The Long and Winding Road
by raspberry truffles
Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid. I have rated this story as m for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Reid and Luke

Warning: Noah will be a part of this story, but he will not come between Luke and Reid, even though he may want to..

Disclaimer: These are not my characters.

Set-up This is how I would have liked the scene to go between Luke and Reid on Wed. June 30th. Some of the dialogue is taken directly from that episode.

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Reid and Luke.

A/N This was originally published here as Reid and Luke Finally Get Together. I have rated this story M because later chapters will be NC 17. I have edited this story and I am finally finishing it. I think that it's going to be a long one though. I hope that you enjoy it. If you have read this and Date Night at the Lakeview, new chapters begin at chapter 6. Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think!. Thanks for taking this ride with me!

Rating G

Reid's head was spinning as he left Yo's. _Why had Luke talked to Mona and Bob about getting Reid's job back? He had told Luke that he was moving on and away from Oakdale so why was Luke trying to get him to stay? Why, why, why? Most importantly why do I still care about what bloody Luke Snyder wants? Oh my god, I hate feeling this out of control. Does Luke know the kind of power he has over me? Oh my god. Just kill me now. _

_The worst part in all of this is that now I have to go and talk to Luke. Luke, Luke, Luke! Why do I care so much about him? Rationally, I know that he is with Noah and that he loves Noah so why can't I just accept that and move on? I hate these feelings that I have for Luke. Why can't I just make them go away? Surely to God I am not going to feel like this for much longer. I should probably just take the job with the Mayo clinic and be done with this hellish town, but no I am going to stay here and torture myself with fantasies about bloody Luke Snyder._

Reid, still arguing with himself gets into his car and starts the drive to Luke's house. It's a short drive, perhaps too short for now he has to go and see Luke_. Maybe he won't be home. Oh God, please let this be over soon. I don't want to have to deal with any other people in Luke's family and then have to come back again._ Reid looked at the driveway and was relieved to see Luke's car and no others in it. He realized that there could be a car in the garage, but at least it looked like Luke was home.

Steeling himself as if to do battle he quickly walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Luke answered almost immediately, _Thank God!_ Reid could barely look at Luke and had to rush past him. Unfortunately he couldn't miss how hot Luke looked in his button down black shirt and tight pants. Reid spied a drink and quickly took a long sip to cool himself down. He carefully looked away from Luke and began to explain why he was there.

He explained that he was going to stay in Oakdale and made it clear that he was staying for the patients and not for Luke. Luke didn't seem to care and Reid started to feel uncomfortable for even coming over to see Luke. When he said "just like being with Noah works for you." He was just trying to let Luke off the hook and show that he didn't really care that they were back together. When Luke replied, "What?" Reid suddenly faltered, "you are back together, right?" Reid asked Luke.

"No, you idiot" Luke replied suddenly realizing that this was the reason why Reid had been so cold to him this morning and had been refusing to take his calls. Noah was right; Reid had felt rejected and hurt. Luke felt hope bubble up inside him. Reid had quit his job for Luke.

Reid just stood there thinking _oh my god they are not back together; maybe I still have a chance with Luke. Oh God what about the conflict of interest am I going to have to quit my job again. Why is life in Oakdale so complicated? I never had any of this crap to deal with in Dallas. _

"You did quit your job for me, didn't you?" Luke asked, but it was more of a statement than a question.

Reid finally looked Luke in the eye and said "yes, for all the good it did me."

"What do you mean?" asked Luke. 'What is he going on about now,' wondered Luke to himself. 'Why can't we just be together?'

"Well I don't know where things stand in my personal or professional life." Reid said bewilderedly. 'What does this all mean?' Reid wondered to himself. 'I am completely at sea. Oh my god, maybe I should just leave this godforsaken town. I don't think that I can handle the drama! Why is Luke staring at me like that? I can't leave this town because I can't leave Luke. When he looks at me like this I can barely breathe.'

Luke looked at Reid with a soft smile on his face. 'Poor Reid,' he thought to himself, 'he just looks so lost. I can practically hear him babbling in his head.' Luke couldn't help himself he reached over and kissed Reid lovingly.

As soon as Luke started kissing Reid, he was rewarded with a soft moan. Reid couldn't help it. It just felt so good to be kissing Luke again. Kissing Luke was amazing, it was hot and seductive, but also gentle and sweet. Kissing Luke was worth all of the drama and angst he had been suffering through.

As soon as the kiss ended Reid was snapped back to reality. He wanted to start a relationship with Luke but he was unsure about the whole conflict of interest issue.

"Uh… where do we go from here Luke? I want to have a relationship with you but what about the conflict of interest?" Reid inquired nervously. 'Perhaps Luke didn't want to have a relationship with him. Maybe that was just a pity kiss. God I hope not,' Reid thought to himself.

"There is no conflict of interest. I resigned my seat on the board when I was talking to Mona and Bob. So you don't need to worry about any more of my silly ideas." Luke stated smiling at Reid. "By the way, I want to have a relationship with you too."

"Thank God!" Reid said smiling as he grabbed Luke and kissed him like there was no tomorrow.

When he broke the kiss Reid looked at Luke, "why did you resign your seat on the board? I never would have asked you to do that, you know."

"I know that you wouldn't have asked me to, but really it's the solution that makes the most sense. When I found out about the ultimatum that Bob had given you I wasn't really upset with you for not choosing me over your career, I was hurt that you hadn't bothered to talk to me about it. I never expected you to give up your job for me, but I did expect you to talk to me about something that affects both of us. I want a real partnership with you Reid, and that means that you are going to have to share your problems with me and not just make unilateral decisions by yourself, okay?" Luke finished.

"I'm not very good at sharing. It never occurred to me that we might be able to come up with a solution that worked for both of us. I felt that I needed to figure it out on my own and then just present you with the solution. I can see now that I should have talked to you first, I would have saved us both a lot of pain." Reid admitted quietly.

"I think that we are both going to have to work on communication better with each other.

Right now I just want to do something fun to celebrate us being a couple. Are you hungry?" Luke asked Reid with a knowing smile.

"Yes" Reid smiled back at Luke.

"Will you do me the honour of having dinner with me at the Lakeview, Dr. Oliver?" Luke inquired formally.

"I would love to, Mr. Snyder" Reid replied smiling.

Luke grabbed his keys and Reid's hand and headed for his car.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Summary: I believe that this is AU. It started with canon and took a turn. This is a story about the courtship of Reid and Luke.

Warning: There is some mild Noah bashing in this chapter.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating: G

Reid's head was spinning. In the course of the day he had thought that he had zero chance of being with Luke and was already planning his escape from Oakhell and then he found out that Luke had gone to bat for him and gotten his job back. Then he had gone over to Luke's just to let Luke know that he was staying in town. (He felt he owed Luke this much.) Then Luke told him that he was not back together with Noah and that he wanted a relationship with him. Now here he was at the Lakeview on a date of all things with Luke. How did this happen. The whole day seemed surreal. Well at least he was in a restaurant maybe food would help him sort out the rest.

Luke was happy just to be on a date with Reid but he could tell that Reid was in shock. He was sure of this because Reid hadn't asked about the food yet.

"Reid, are you okay? What do you want to eat?" Luke inquired smiling sweetly at Reid.

"Uh… I don't know, what do you recommend? I am pretty hungry." Reid answered unnecessarily. Luke had yet to see Reid when he wasn't hungry.

"Well the prime rib is excellent and so are the steaks. I like the peppercorn steak; in fact that's what I'm going to have along with a mixed green salad, a baked potato and steamed vegetables. What do you think?" Luke asked.

Reid wrinkled his nose. "You had me up until the steamed vegetables. Do you think that I could get prime rib with caeser salad, and French fries?" Reid asked hopefully.

"I'm sure that can be arranged. How do you want your prime rib cooked?" Luke inquired.

"I would like it medium rare, with horseradish of course. Why, are you going to order for me?" Reid wanted to know.

"Yes I am, after all you are my date!" Luke said teasingly. "So what do you want to drink with all of that food?"

"I'll have a beer please" Reid replied secretly pleased that Luke was taking care of him.

Right after that Luke signalled for the waitress who came right over to take their orders. Reid cocked an eyebrow at Luke when Luke ordered 'pommes frite' but didn't question him until the waitress was safely out of earshot.

"Pommes-Frite? What the hell are those? Is that snobby talk for French fries?" Reid inquired.

"Yes," Luke answered bashfully. "Did I remember everything else okay?" Luke asked worriedly. He knew how important food was to Reid and he wanted Reid to be happy with his meal.

"Yes Luke and truthfully I'm not that picky. Thanks for taking care of me!" Reid added shyly.

Just then Reid put his hand on the table in a gesture that asked for Luke's. Luke immediately responded and the two men sat happily together holding hands across the table.

"So, Luke please tell me again that you never expected me to give up my job for you when you had a major meltdown that I hadn't chosen you over it. I'm very confused," Reid stated.

Just then the waiter arrived with their drinks, a beer for Reid and soda water for Luke.

"Well" Luke began "I wish I had a short answer for you but I don't and my answer involves Noah so please don't freak out okay?" Luke implored.

Reid nodded; he was really intrigued now to hear what Noah had to do with Luke's reaction.

"Well when Noah and I first met Noah was deeply closeted No smirking or I won't be able to continue." Luke warned seeing Reid's face.

Reid gave Luke his most solemn face, but inside he was rolling his eyes and shaking his head. 'Noah was in the closet, now there was a big surprise.'

Luke took a deep breath and began again. "In fact, when I first met Noah he was dating my friend Maddie Coleman, Henry's sister. I had fallen for my straight friend Kevin in high school and I was determined not to go down that road again. However, I couldn't help being attracted to him. Don't grimace, Reid!"

"Sorry Luke, I couldn't help it. Please go on," Reid apologized.

"As it turned out Noah was also attracted to me and eventually he acted on it. It took awhile for him to admit to himself that he liked me even after he kissed me. Finally I guess I wore him down and we became a couple. Now his dad was a major homophobe and Noah was afraid of him and thus wanted to keep me a secret from his dad. He even went so far as to take Maddie as his "date" to a dinner with his dad. I hated being a secret, but as it turned out it would have been safer for me because when Noah finally came clean and told his father about us the colonel didn't take it very well. He blamed me for corrupting Noah and then shot me in an attempt to get me out of Noah's life."

"Are you serious Luke? Noah's dad shot you, with a gun?" Reid asked, his incredulous voice filled with horror.

"Yes, it's true. Obviously I didn't die, but I was paralyzed for quite some time." Luke admitted quietly.

Just then their food arrived. Luke was relieved to have something else to do before he continued with his story.

Reid was relieved to see the food so that he could have something to do while he processed what Luke had just told him.

"I am so sorry that you went through that Luke. I am truly sorry if I made you feel like I wanted to hide you. I am so proud to be with you." Reid added with a smile.

Luke gave Reid a watery smile. "Is it okay if we just eat for awhile before I tell you the rest?" Luke pleaded.

'The rest?' Reid wondered to himself. 'Oh my god there is more to this story. What else could Noah have done to Luke?' Reid quickly calmed himself as he knew that he had to be strong for Luke so he smiled at the blond reassuringly and said "sure Luke take your time."

The two men sat eating in silence for a few minutes. Reid commented that the food was excellent to Luke. Reid was sure that it was delicious, but he couldn't really enjoy it because he was so worried about Luke. 'What more could there be to this story,' he wondered to himself.

Reid didn't have to wait long before Luke began again. "So aside from the Colonel Mayer fiasco there was one more time when Noah tried to hide me. A woman named Ameera came to town. She was from Iran and was being threatened with deportation as her student visa was running out. She came looking for Noah because she had known his father, Ameera claimed that the colonel had been kind to her and her mother and that is why she came to Noah for help. Noah wanted to help her so he did the one thing that would guarantee her residence in the states. He married her."

"What? Noah married a woman? What about you were you okay with that? What were you supposed to do?" Reid practically screeched he was so incensed by Noah's insensitivity toward Luke.

"Calm down Reid. I'm okay, I survived! It was awful for me. The INS was keeping a close eye on Ameera and Noah so of course I could not be a part of the picture. A part of me hated myself for allowing this situation to occur. Once I came out of the closet I never wanted to go back in. I felt guilty for not wanting to 'save' Ameera at any cost, but for me the personal cost was just too great."

"Oh my god, no wonder you freaked out when I said we would take a break for a little while and then pick up where we left off. I truly didn't mean to cast you aside; I just didn't know what to do. I am so sorry for bringing up these terrible memories for you. Please know that I am proud to be with you and I will never hide you from anyone." Reid promised.

"Just so you know when Bob first gave me the ultimatum I did fight for you. I didn't offer to resign my position, but I did let Bob know that I saw no reason why I couldn't have both. Providing of course that you were willing to have a relationship with me, I still don't see what the big deal is at all. I even accused Bob of being homophobic. I am sorry that I didn't come and talk to you right away. Truthfully, I was hoping that Bob would realize that he needed me and would just let me have whatever I wanted." Reid finished with a shrug.

"I don't think that Bob is homophobic, but Mona might be. She gave me a horrified look when I told her that you had left Memorial for me. Uh I hope that you don't mind that I outed you." Luke said nervously.

"Not at all I am not now nor have I ever been ashamed of being gay." Reid stated "What do you think the odds are that she's figured out that Noah is gay as well? I bet she has a whole new understanding of that punch Noah landed on my nose now." Reid chuckled.

"Oh my god, I wasn't even thinking about that. Well this should make your next meeting/ hospital tour/ dog and pony show more interesting. You will have to give me the details as I am no longer going to be invited to any of those outings" Luke smiled at Reid.

"Yeah, don't remind me. Your presence is what made the whole nightmare bearable. I hope that Bob doesn't rope Doogie in to take your place." Reid groaned.

"I don't think that it will be Doogie, it will likely be the person who takes my seat on the board." Luke said.

"I'm hoping that Bob will be fed up with me and find some other doctor to take my place. What do you think?" Reid asked hopefully.

"I doubt it Reid, you are simply irreplaceable." Luke smiled warmly at Reid.

"Thanks Luke" Reid replied shyly.

"I think that it's time to call it a night, don't you. I'll drive you back to my place so that you can pick up your car."

"Sure Luke," Reid replied hesitantly. He really didn't want the night to end but he didn't know how to prolong the date any longer.

Luke, sensing Reid's reluctance to part, suggested that Reid come in for a nightcap when they got back to his place.

Reid promptly agreed.

Luke quickly paid the bill and the grabbed Reid's hand and headed once more for his car.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. I own nothing, nothing at all.

All mistakes are mine.

A/N I have never written in POV before so I hope that it works here.

Rating PG13

Luke and Reid drove back to Luke's house in an awkward silence. Both were feeling tense about what was about to happen.

Luke's POV

Oh my god, Oh my god. Oh My God! I couldn't help thinking over and over again! Reid said he wanted to come in for a nightcap. I wonder if that is code for "let's have sex" God I hope so! It has been such a long time.

I could feel myself blushing and hoped that Reid hadn't noticed. I stole a glance at the other man, but Reid was staring straight ahead and really paying no attention to me at all. 'I wonder if that's a bad sign that he's not looking at me. Does that mean he doesn't want to have sex with me? Why was this stuff so complicated?'

I took in a calming breath and carefully reminded myself that Reid had initiated sex on two previous occasions. The first time on the day of Noah's surgery when I had gone over to Katie's to confront Reid. I remembered how passionately Reid had kissed me. I remembered desperately longing to give in to Reid and just have wild, hot sex, but I had thought about Noah and had not been able to betray him in that way. Truthfully I still regretted not sleeping with Reid that afternoon, well sort of anyways. I'm glad that I didn't betray Noah and I know that I would have felt guilty about it forever, but part of me still wishes I had just let nature take its course. The second time that we almost had sex was the day that Noah had regained his sight. I had kissed Reid this time and it had been just as passionate as the time at Katie's. We had been making out for awhile when Reid had whispered that he 'wanted to be alone with me' I hesitated because I was a bit nervous. Things seemed to moving so quickly, with Noah I had had to wait for two years. Reid and I hadn't even been on a real date back then. Even so I have to admit that I wanted to take him to my room right then and there. I probably would have if I hadn't picked that moment to look out the window only to see Noah staring in the window. I instantly froze. Even though I hadn't been doing anything wrong, Noah and I had broken up long before this, and Reid assured me, erroneously as it turned out, that Noah wouldn't be able to see us clearly, I had just felt incredibly guilty. Needless to say the spell between Reid and I was broken and we hadn't had another moment alone together since. Hopefully tonight we can finally be together.

Reid's POV

Oh my God. What the hell am I doing? I just went on a dinner date for two. I never go on dinner dates. We decided to be in a relationship. What does that even mean? I've never really been in a relationship before. I've had sex, lots of sex with lots of different people but never as part of a relationship. Whereas Luke has only had sex with one person and that was definitely in a relationship. Oh my god I'm dying over here. I wonder if Luke knows what kind of power he holds over me. I hope not! If he does I may never regain my equilibrium.

Oh my god Luke is pulling into the driveway. I said that I would come in for a nightcap. I really want to be with him but I also want to run away and hide. I am a coward. Oh god he's looking at me with those big brown eyes. He looks so … hopeful I wonder what he is hoping for and I hope that I don't let him down.

End of POV

"Well here we are" Luke announced as he parked the car. "Do you still want to come in for a nightcap?"

No, Reid thought emphatically but answered "yeah Luke that would be great" 'Oh god why did I say that?'

The two men walked up to the house and Luke unlocked the door with slightly shaking hands and they went in.

"Why don't you have a seat on the couch" Luke suggested. "What can I get you to drink?"

"Uh … just some mineral water would be great." Reid replied.

Luke quickly went to the kitchen and returned with two bottles of mineral water. Luke opened his own bottle and then took a long drink to cool himself down.

'Oh my god does he have any idea how beautiful he is? Or how turned on he's making me?' Reid wondered to himself.

Luke crossed the room in a few steps handed Reid a bottle of water and quickly sat down right beside Reid. He sat so close that their thighs were lightly touching. Luke couldn't believe how brazen he was being with Reid. He had never felt this confident in all the time he had been with Noah. With Noah he always had to beg for attention but with Reid he just felt connected. Luke could also tell that Reid was a little overwhelmed by the situation so Luke decided to take matters into his own hands.

Luke leaned over and kissed Reid on the lips. It was a sweet, almost innocent kiss but Reid responded immediately and deepened the kiss. Soon Reid was lying on top of Luke, kissing him, hard. Reid's tongue had parted Luke's soft red lips and forced its way into Luke's mouth. Reid broke the kiss and murmured "I really want to be alone with you." He looked into Luke's eyes longingly.

Just then Reid heard a female clear her throat behind him. 'Oh my god, please don't let that be Luke's mom.' Reid silently prayed.

Luke looked up at the unexpected sound and said nervously, "uh… hi Mom. Uh… you remember Dr. Oliver don't you?"

"Yes' Lily answered coldly.

Reid quickly sprang up feeling like a foolish teenager. With as much dignity as he could muster Reid said, "Well I think that it's time for me to go home. Good night Ms. Walsh. Good night Luke." With that Reid rushed out of Luke's house and headed for his car.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Reid and Katie

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. I own nothing, nothing at all.

A/N Sorry, Luke isn't really in this chapter.

All mistakes are mine.

Rating PG

Reid fled Luke's house as quickly as he could. He was mortified. He got into his car and drove home as quickly as possible. Thankfully, it was a short drive with very few other cars on the road; otherwise Reid surely would have gotten into an accident.

_What is it about Luke Snyder that turns me into a nerdy teenager? I am never telling him that I want to be alone with him again, ever. It's too humiliating; first those words brought Noah into the equation and now Luke's mother. God, I hope that she didn't hear me say that too him. Well I will never know for sure, so I am just going to believe that she didn't. Otherwise I won't be able to look her in the eye. Christ, she already hates me and wants me out of the picture, I'm sure that the little show I managed to put on for her tonight didn't win me any points with her. Why does Luke live with his mother? I know that he can afford his own place so what is his deal? Logically, I should just forget about Luke, unfortunately my logical brain does not seem to have any power when it comes to Luke Snyder. What am I going to do?_

Just as Reid had finished berating himself he noticed that there were lights on in his apartment. 'Great' he thought to himself, 'Katie's up and now I am going to have to relive the whole humiliating experience again. I hate my life!'

"Damn you Luke Snyder" Reid muttered to himself as he opened the door. Just as he had expected Katie was there as he walked in.

"Hi Reid, how was your night?" Katie inquired.

"Fine, fine…why what have you heard?" Reid answered. 'Oh god,' he thought to himself, 'if she wasn't' suspicious before I'm sure that she is now.'

Katie smiled her most encouraging smile at Reid. "So, do you want anything to eat Reid?" Katie offered deciding to soften him up with food as it was clear something had happened and Katie was determined to find out what.

"Uh….no I had dinner at the Lakeview" Reid answered nervously. "I'm just going to grab a bottle of water and go to bed." He finished hoping to make his escape.

No such luck for Reid. "Who did you have dinner with at the Lakeview?" Katie inquired. Seeing Reid looking nervous she surmised that it was probably Luke. "Was it Luke?"

Reid's head immediately bobbed up and he had the startled look of a deer caught in the headlights look on his face. 'How did she know?' "Yeah," he finally answered, reluctantly.

"Did you have a nice time with Luke?" Katie asked with a warm smile. She new that Reid was upset about something and she was carefully digging to find out where things had gone wrong. She knew that Reid and Luke would make a great couple if they could just get past Luke's issues with Noah and Reid's issues with, well the human race.

"Yes, we had a good time at the Lakeview" Reid answered warily.

'Okay,' thought Katie, 'the date went well but something happened after that that has got Reid spooked. 'Hmmm,' she thought to herself. "So where did you go after the Lakeview?" Katie inquired as innocently as she could.

'How does she do that?' Reid wondered to himself. 'How does she know that something happened after? I bet she knows that I don't want to talk about it too, but does she care, no, she's going to make me tell her each and every moment of my acute embarrassment.'

Reid threw up his hands in exasperation and launched into the humiliating tale of what happened at Luke's.

'No wonder he's upset,' Katie thought to herself as she tried not to laugh out loud. Katie inhaled deeply. "Well Reid," she began "I'm sure that you feel mortified, but really these things happen. If Lily had any sense at all she would have just left the room and maybe talked to Luke privately the next day. I'm sure that Luke is at least as embarrassed by the whole incident as you are."

"Do you really think so?" Reid asked hopefully.

"Definitely, Reid he knows that you were uncomfortable because of how you left and I'm sure that he yelled at his mother for interrupting such an intimate moment. Luke is an adult and so are you; you're attracted to each other it's not really surprising that you were kissing. I mean you weren't naked, uh were you?"

"God no!" Reid replied somewhat indignantly.

"I think that you should text Luke to make sure that he is okay." Katie said.

"Do you really think so? What if he doesn't want to have anything more to do with me?" Reid asked.

"Do you still want to see Luke?" Katie asked gently.

"Yes!" Reid replied a little more emphatically than perhaps was strictly necessary.

"I think that you will find that Luke still wants to see you too. Now go text him and then go to bed. Good night Reid." Katie said sweetly.

"Good night, Katie," Reid said with a shy smile, "and thanks."


	5. Chapter 5

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Lily ( but not in a creepy way) Luke and Reid

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Reid and Luke

Rating PG

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

A/N This chapter takes place simultaneously with the last one.

Luke watched hopelessly as Reid practically ran out of his house. He wanted to go after him but really he felt it was better to just let Reid leave. The look on Reid's face told Luke that Reid was humiliated and angry. Luke couldn't even fault him for feeling that way. He just hoped that Reid would forgive him. He sighed to himself and then turned and glared at his mother.

"What on earth possessed you to interrupt us? Couldn't you tell that we wanted to be alone?" Luke asked. "Don't you want me to be happy?"

"Of course I want you to be happy sweetie, but do you really think that you could be happy with Reid Oliver? He's just so rude and arrogant. "Lily replied.

"Mom, I care about Reid and I know that he cares about me too. Do you know how refreshing it is to be with someone who always says what they feel?" Luke asked.

"What about Noah, Luke? You know that he loves you. I always thought that you two could have a love that lasts for a lifetime. You don't want to squander that kind of love Luke." Lily answered.

"Mom, I loved Noah and yes I know that he loved me, but I am no longer in love with him and I don't think that he is in love with me either. I will probably always love him but that relationship stopped being healthy for me a long time ago. I always felt like I was begging Noah for attention. That relationship made me feel insecure whereas Reid makes me feel confident. I really like who I am when I 'm with Reid, he makes me feel valued in a way that I haven't felt in a long time. So please respect my choice and don't try to 'rescue' me from myself." Luke stated.

"Doesn't it bother you that he is so rude and arrogant? Don't you think that his arrogance might actually hurt your self confidence?" Lily asked with concern in her voice.

Luke smiled to himself. "I can understand why you would think that his bluntness might hurt my confidence, but it actually has the opposite effect because I always know where I stand with him. The flip side of that is when he compliments me I know that he means it. Reid just does not have the politically correct editing button in his brain. So I know that when he says that he likes me he means it."

Lily nodded thoughtfully to herself. "Honey that actually kind of makes sense. If he makes you happy then I am happy for you. I'm sorry that I interrupted you two. If you want me to apologize to Reid I will." _God Reid Oliver is awful. Why would Luke choose to be with him? Ugh. Hopefully this is just a phase that he will get over and then hopefully Noah will take him back and things will return to normal. In the meantime I suppose I will have to play nice with the horrid Dr. Oliver._ She shuddered inwardly at the thought. _On the bright side, he is nice to look at, and he has a great ass_. She smiled warmly at Luke at that thought.

"No, no I don't think that will be necessary," Luke answered hurriedly, by the look on Reid's face, Luke new that the other man just wanted to forget the whole bloody fiasco. "I just need you to accept him as my choice. I don't know where this relationship is going with Reid; I just want the opportunity to find out. Do you think that you can give me that?" Luke asked hopefully "Mom, I know that you love Noah and I am not asking you to stop. I'm glad that everybody cares about Noah, but please don't sing his praises in front of Reid."

"I understand honey, I do love Noah, but I will respect your feelings for Reid." Lily replied _I can do this, I can support Luke, as I'm sure this wont last_. "Now I think it's time that we both went to bed. Good night Luke"

"Night, Mom" Luke replied

Luke went upstairs to bed. He was worried about Reid. 'What if Reid decided that Luke was just not worth the effort? God he quit his job for me! Who does that? Well I am not going to give him up that easily, I will just have to convince him to give me another chance. I hope that I can pull this off. I'm probably not really worth it,' Luke thought sadly.

Just then, Luke's cell phone buzzed indicating that he had a new text message. Luke flipped open his phone. He smiled to himself when he saw that the text was from Reid.

**Are you ok? R**

**I'm ok, how about you ? L**

**Yeah, Sorry that I ran out like that. R**

**No problem, Sorry that my mom was an idiot and that she had such bad timing. L**

**Yeah? R**'Is it wrong to hate your boyfriend's mother,' he wondered. He decided he would have to ask Katie about that. He sighed heavily to himself.

**Yeah. L**

**Maybe we can get together tomorrow for lunch? R.**

Reid knew that lunch might seem kind of lame, but he desperately wanted to see Luke again and he didn't think that he could wait until dinner. Hopefully, he would be able to see Luke for dinner too.

Luke smiled as relief flooded throughout his body. Reid still wanted to be with him.

Luke quickly texted Reid back after all he didn't want Reid to change his mind about lunch.

**I would love to have lunch with you tomorrow. Let me know where and when. L**

**How about Al's at 1? R**

**See you then. Goodnight L**

**Goodnight R**

Luke went to sleep with a smile on his face, thinking about seeing Reid the next day with Reid.

Reid made a mental note to thank Katie, he knew that she would be unbearably smug when he told her about his successful texting, but he had to admit that the prospect of lunch with Luke the next day made it all worthwhile. He just wouldn't let this fact be known to Katie or he would have to move!


	6. Chapter 6

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Reid and Luke

Other Characters include Katie, Gretchen and Ali.

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid

Disclaimer: These are not my characters all mistakes are mine.

Rating NC17

Reid woke up the next morning with a smile on his face. An actual, full on smile, this had never happened to him before. 'Oh my God, I'm happy, I'm really, really happy,' he thought to himself. He took a moment to look in the mirror and noted the goofy grin that was plastered across his face. "Snap out of it, Oliver, you can't let Katie see you this way or you will never live this down," he told his reflection sternly. The grin wouldn't fade, and inside his brain was screaming 'I'm going to see Luke today' over and over again. He couldn't stop smiling.

'Maybe, Katie will still be asleep so I won't have to face her,' he thought to himself hopefully.

"You look happy," Katie said smugly as soon as Reid entered the kitchen..

"I am happy, Katie," Reid answered incredulously.

Katie smirked at her roommate. "I take it your texting was successful."

"Yeah, thanks for the advice."

"So are you seeing Luke today?"

"Yes, we're having lunch at Al's," Reid paused and looked at his watch. "In 5 hours and 23 minutes."

Katie burst out laughing.

"What? You asked, I was just answering your question," Reid huffed out. 'Christ I have got to get myself under control or everyone at the hospital will know that I am obsessed with Luke, and then Luke will find out. Oh My God, who am I?'

Katie just smiled at Reid, "I'll be expecting a full recap the next time I see you."

Reid just gaped at her, "Katie I am not your girlfriend so I am not going to spill my guts to you after each time I see Luke. I'm not that guy."

"Fine," Katie replied with a small smile.

Reid nodded, relieved that the matter had been settled so easily.

"I'll ask Luke for the details, because we both know he **is** that guy," Katie stated, knowingly.

"Alright Katie, you win. I will give you the details the next time I see you," Reid answered begrudgingly. The last thing he wanted was Katie and Luke talking about this.

Ten minutes later Reid had prepared and inhaled an enormous 'breakfast' sandwich, drank a big glass of chocolate milk, brushed and flossed his teeth, grabbed his doctor's bag and was headed out the door.

"Don't forget to say 'hi' to Luke for me," Katie called after him sweetly.

"Hmmph," Reid mumbled in reply.

"Pardon me?" Katie responded with faux innocence.

"Okay," Reid managed to huff out grumpily.

"Bye," Katie called, Reid just waved in response, desperate to escape.

'I'm so going to have to move out,' he thought to himself, chagrined.

Reid drove the short distance to the hospital all the while telling himself to calm down, while his inner voice was screaming, "I get to see Luke today, I get to see Luke today!"

No matter how many times he told that voice to shut the hell up, it kept chanting that mantra.

'Oh my God,' Reid thought to himself. "I am a bloody 12 year old girl."

Reid headed to his office, forcing himself to keep his head down and his face as straight as possible, so as not to draw attention to himself. Of course that backfired, as everyone noticed how self-conscious and uncomfortable he looked.

The morning dragged on for Reid. He did his rounds, which barely took up any time at all this morning, had two consults with prospective patients, discussed a patient with a colleague and yet it was still only 11:00. 'Two more hours,' he thought to himself, impatiently, 'what the hell am I going to do for two more hours.'

He began to pace the halls, looking for something, anything to do to keep himself occupied.

The nurses kept watching Dr. Oliver, with increasing concern. They were used to him yelling and making them cry, but they weren't used to him being so, well fidgety.

"Oh my God," whimpered Gretchen. "What's wrong with him? Do you think he's going to get fired? Or do you think he's going to fire me?" Gretchen asked feeling herself on the verge of hysteria.

"Is there a problem, Nurse," Reid paused as she turned around, "Gretchen?" Reid asked, with his blue eyes piercing her brown ones.

"Nnno, no problem, Dr. Oliver," she replied wondering what it meant that he had actually called her by name. Sure it looked like he read he name tag, but he had never done that before.

Just as she felt certain she was going to pass out under the pressure of Dr. Oliver's stare, Gretchen saw a familiar blonde head and decided to use Luke as a distraction.

"Hey Luke, it's nice to see you," she said in as steady a voice as she could manage.

Reid immediately turned around; in fact he turned so quickly that the nurses were surprised that he hadn't fallen over.

"Hi Gretchen," Luke replied smiling warmly at the nurse but still managing to sneak glances at Reid. Luke then smiled and said a general hello to the other nurses who were now openly staring at Reid and Luke.

Luke turned to Reid, "Uh…I was hoping to have a quick word with you if you can spare a few moments for me?"

"Um…uh…yes of course. Let's go to my office," Reid then turned back and glared at Gretchen, "See that we are not disturbed."

"Yeah, yes sir. I'll make sure that no one bothers you," she replied solemnly.

Reid and Luke then walked toward Reid's office. The nurses, baffled by the scene that had just played out before them, watched as Reid and Luke headed toward Reid's office.

Reid's right hand seemed to have developed a twitch as it came closer and closer to Luke's left hand. The nurses were fascinated as they watched Luke finally reach out and grasp Reid's hand. Gretchen audibly gasped as she saw Reid turn to Luke and smile.

"Oh my God, Dr. Oliver is gay and he has a thing for Luke," she announced as all the other nurses nodded in agreement.

"Did you know that he was gay?" Charlene, a surgical nurse asked.

"No, I had no idea, but that explains why I've never heard about him hitting on any of the female nurses," Shelagh, a scrub nurse offered.

"Did you see the way he was looking at Luke, after Luke took his hand?" I wish I had a guy that looked at me like that," said another nurse as she swooned.

Just then Ali came around the corner. "Hey what are you guys talking about?" She asked curiously.

"Luke and Dr. Oliver, did you know that they were dating?" Gretchen asked.

"They can't be dating," Ali stated plainly. "Luke is in love with Noah."

"Didn't they break-up a while ago?" Shelagh asked.

"Yeah, but they break-up all the time and then they always get back together, Noah and Luke belong together," Ali said firmly.

"Well I'm not sure that Luke would agree with you, he and Dr, Oliver just went into Reid's office, and they looked pretty cosy," Charlene said with a wink.

"Hey maybe Noah found out about Luke and Dr. Oliver and that's why he punched Dr. Oliver in the nose in the Lakeview last week when the three of them were meeting with Dr. Hughes and that horrible Ms. Cross," ventured Gretchen.

"What are you talking about? Noah would never punch anyone. He's a very gentle soul and besides I'm sure that he has nothing but gratitude for Dr. Oliver," Ali said, defending her friend.

"No, Noah definitely clocked Dr. Oliver, my sister Ellen, works at the Lakeview and she saw the whole thing. Noah caused quite a scene," Gretchen assured the other nurses, feeling more confidant than she ever had before at the hospital.

"Well, I'm not sure how accurate that story is, but I do know that we had better stop gossiping and get back to work before Dr. Oliver catches us talking about him," Ali said sternly, trying to hide how shaken she was by these revelations. She made a mental note to talk things over with Casey later.

Meanwhile…

"So uh Luke why are you here?" Reid asked hoping that Luke hadn't just stopped by to cancel their lunch plans.

"I missed you," Luke said simply smiling warmly at Reid.

"Oh my God you missed me? I missed you too, soooo much," Reid blurted out, and then realized to his horror that he had said all of that out loud. He was about to try to take it back when he felt Luke's lips crashing into his, making it impossible to think anything at all.

All he could do was feel Luke's incredibly soft lips as they pressed against his own. Taste Luke's tongue as it forced its way into his mouth. Savour the taste of Luke's mouth as he lost his own tongue in the hot wet cavern of Luke's mouth.

All Reid's poor brain could manage was…kissing Luke…heaven…don't ever want this to stop.

Reid was melting, literally melting into Luke. He moaned blissfully against Luke's lips and was rewarded with a smile. He couldn't see Luke's smile, but he could feel it against his lips and it made him melt a little bit more.

He was lost in the depths of Luke's mouth, when his brain suddenly registered something else. Luke was unbuttoning his shirt, slowly. Luke's fingers lightly dragging over Reid's newly revealed skin. Luke's touch was electric and it sent tiny shock waves directly to Reid's ever hardening cock.

"Door….lock…need…to …lock…the…door" Reid managed to sputter out without completely breaking contact with Luke's lips

"Already done," Luke whispered as he pulled away from Reid's mouth and started working on Reid's neck.

"Luuuuukkkke," he moaned, caught up in the sensations that Luke's mouth sent reverberating throughout Reid's entire body.

Reid had had lots of sex with lots of different men, but he could not remember ever feeling this good, or this connected to another man.

"Luke," he whimpered as Luke stopped kissing his neck.

"Shhh, I just want to look at you, Reid, you are so beautiful," Luke said with a touch of awe in his voice.

Reid just stood transfixed, staring at Luke as the other man stared at him. The look of longing etched on Luke's face made Reid want to take control, remove all of Luke's clothes and fuck him against the wall, but aside from desire there was something else on Luke's face, something that Reid couldn't quite define, but he knew that he needed to let Luke be in charge, so he waited to see what Luke wanted to do next.

Luke began kissing Reid's mouth, he needed that connection. God, he loved kissing Reid. He felt Reid dart his tongue into Luke's mouth. He loved how Reid's tongue seemed to explore his mouth, like it was the most delicious thing Reid had ever tasted.

While Luke was kissing Reid, his hands were busy undoing the button on Reid's jeans.

Once the button was undone, Luke slowly unzipped Reid's zipper, pushing it slightly against Reid's throbbing cock.

Reid shuddered at the sensation, using all of his self-control not to come, right there and then. He was desperate for release, but he didn't want this to end. Luke pushed Reid's jeans over his hips and down to his ankles, and then he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of Reid's boxers and slowly pushed them down to join his jeans.

Luke took a moment to stare at Reid's glorious cock.

"Wow," he breathed out. Luke fell to his knees and then looked up at Reid whose blue eyes stared back into Luke's chocolate brown orbs.

Luke licked his lips, and that small movement made Reid's cock twitch.

Feeling encouraged, Luke asked, "do you mind?"

Reid's eyes widened in astonishment, but he merely shook his head and grabbed Luke's head in his hands in order to direct the blonde to take him in his mouth.

Luke tentatively licked the head of Reid's penis, savouring the taste as well as the sounds that Reid was making deep in his throat.

Luke moved down the head to the underside of the rim of Reid's penis, allowing his tongue to thoroughly explore the sensitive area.

"Luuuukkke," Reid groaned, he desperately wanted Luke to envelope his penis in that glorious mouth.

Luke ignored Reid's pleas and kept going at his leisurely pace. He swirled his tongue up and down Reid's shaft, spending extra time on a particularly sensitive spot. He pushed his tongue into the vein that ran the length of Reid's penis and was rewarded when Reid tugged on his hair and shivered.

Luke paused for a moment and looked up at Reid's face which showed his naked desire for Luke.

"You likey?" Luke whispered innocently.

"Llluuuukkkkke," Reid cried out in a mixture of frustration, that Luke had stopped, and deep desire, for Luke to continue.

Luke swiped his tongue over Reid's slit and then took the entire length of Reid into his mouth.

Reid shuddered as he felt Luke's red swollen lips grasp his aching dick. Luke sucked on Reid's cock while swirling his tongue up and down the sides of his penis, taking extra care to nip at the vein with just the right amount of pressure. Reid was in heaven, he knew that he wasn't going to last long, but at the same time he wanted to stay in Luke's mouth forever.

Luke then changed the movement; he went from swallowing around the head to swirling his tongue over Reid's highly sensitive slit and back again. When he started using his hand to stimulate Reid's balls as well he pushed Reid over the edge. Reid came hard, coating Luke's throat with thick ropes of come.

The sound of Reid crying out Luke's name as he shot his load down Luke's throat was enough to send Luke over the edge, and he, much to his embarrassment came in his jeans.

"Wow," was all that Reid could manage to say as the two men collapsed in a heap on the floor of Reid's office.

"Yeah," Luke smiled at Reid enjoying lying in Reid's arms.

Once Reid had come down to earth he reached out to touch Luke, Luke tried to stop him, but he was too fast for Luke.

Reid felt the wet spot on Luke's jeans and looked at the younger man curiously. "Luke did you come in your jeans?"

"Yes," Luke mumbled feeling acutely embarrassed.

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke with as much emotion as he could muster.

When Reid broke the kiss he looked directly into Luke's warm brown eyes.

"I'm sorry," whispered Luke. "You must think that I'm a stupid kid, unable to control myself."

"Luke," Reid said firmly. "Never apologize for having an orgasm. Orgasms are a gift and they are always meant to be enjoyed. The fact that you came because you were so excited that I was coming is amazing. It felt good didn't it?"

"Beyond good, it was incredible," Luke admitted shyly.

"Of course it was, and that was only the beginning," Reid stated confidently.

Luke just laughed, comforted by Reid's reaction and happy that there was more to come.

Reid stood up, pulled up his boxer shorts and his jeans and then turned and handed Luke some moist wipes from his desk drawer.

"Sorry Luke, that's the best I can do. I have extra scrubs that you can borrow so that you will be more comfortable, plus you can avoid having to answer some potentially embarrassing questions from the nurses."

"Yeah, because no one will ever guess what we've been doing in here otherwise, will they?" Luke smirked.

"Yeah well they can speculate all they want but if you go out there in those jeans, someone will take a picture and you and your glorious wet spot will end up being the wallpaper on every computer in the place."

Luke sighed, knowing Reid was right and took the scrubs. He had no desire to parade his private life in public anymore than he absolutely had to.

Reid watched as Luke changed out of his jeans and into a pair of Reid's scrubs. There was something very sexy about seeing Luke wearing his pants. Reid had a big smile on his face until he saw the scar on Luke's abdomen.

"Stop," Reid demanded. Luke looked at Reid, confused as to why Reid had halted his getting dressed.

Reid moved closer and gently lifted up Luke's shirt to examine the scar.

Luke froze, finally understanding what had grabbed Reid's attention.

"Why did you need to get a kidney transplant, Luke?"

.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Reid and Luke

Other Characters Henry, Ali, Gretchen and Charlene.

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Reid and Luke

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating: PG

A/N: Thanks to Sleeper 6 who inspired this chapter.

"Luke, why did you have a kidney transplant?" Reid asked.

Luke turned bright red. He should have realized that Reid would know exactly what that ugly scar represented. Luke pulled down his shirt, cursing himself for letting Reid see it now. Everything had been magical and now it was ruined because of him and his stupid past.

Luke sighed deeply and stared at the ground. "That's a long story, Reid. I really don't have time to get into all of it right now. I'll tell you at lunch, okay?" Luke asked not looking up from the ground. He couldn't bear to see the disapproval on Reid's face. Luke glanced at his watch, it was later than he had thought. "Can we push lunch back until 2:00? I need to go home and shower, and check in with the foundation before I can get away."

"Okay," Reid responded, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to concentrate on anything until he found out about Luke's health status.

Luke turned to open the door, anxious to escape, but Reid reached out and grabbed his hand. Luke turned back, startled by the contact; he looked into Reid's eyes and saw confusion and concern but no judgement.

Reid leaned forward and kissed Luke warmly on the lips. He had seen the searing pain in Luke's beautiful brown eyes and desperately wanted to take it away. 'What fresh hell is Luke going to reveal to me today?' he wondered to himself.

Reid broke the kiss and leaned in to whisper, "Luke, you can tell me anything, I won't think any less of you," he promised.

Luke grabbed onto Reid with both arms and hugged the older man tightly. "Thank-you," he whispered against Reid's ear. Then he turned and left Reid's office.

"I'll see you at 2," Reid called after him, needing reassurance that Luke was actually going to show up.

Luke gave only the smallest of nods and then disappeared around the corner.

Reid went back into his office to brood.

As Luke rounded the corner he passed the nurses station. He was so consumed with how he was going to tell Reid about his stupid teenage behaviour that he didn't notice the curious glances he was receiving from them.

The nurses took note of the fact that Luke was wearing scrubs. They were pretty sure that he had been wearing jeans when he came in. Charlene was about to make a comment when she noted the haunted look on Luke's face.

"I wonder what happened between the two of them. They were in Dr. Oliver's office for quite some time, but Luke just looks…broken. I wonder how Dr. Oliver is feeling," Gretchen said with a shudder.

The other nurses all nodded in agreement and went back to work.

Just as Luke was about to exit the hospital he bumped into Ali.

"Hey Luke, are you okay?" Ali asked taking in his haggard appearance.

"Yeah, I'm okay, I just really need to go," Luke said, not wanting to be rude, but not wanting to talk to anyone either.

"Okay, well call me if you want to talk… anytime," Ali said giving Luke a hug while reminding herself to talk to Casey. She was worried about Luke. He just looked so lost and sad.

"I will Ali," Luke smiled weakly at her. "Bye."

"Bye"

Luke drove home and hopped into the shower. As the scalding hot water pounded over his body his mind began to panic. _What am I going to say to Reid, he is going to realize that I am not worth his time? I know that he is way too good for me and now he is going to realize that as well. Fuck, why was I such an idiot back in high school. Maybe I should just cancel on Reid. What's the point of going, he's just going to leave me anyway._ Tears began to stream down Luke's face. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, what the hell am I supposed to do now. Christ I think that I'm in love with him. _

_I'm going to have to face him and tell him the truth and hope that he can see past my mistakes. After all I'm not drinking anymore. Surely to God that will count for something. I could lie to him, but I don't want that kind of relationship. I've seen how destructive lying can be so I'm just going to face him and tell him the truth. He did promise not to judge me, and Reid is nothing if not honest, so maybe it will be okay. God I hope so!_

After giving himself his mini pep talk Luke got out of the shower and put on fresh clothes and headed for Al's. It was almost 2:00 he would have to check in with the foundation later today or tomorrow. That was one of the perks of running the foundation, he could pretty much set his own hours.

When Luke arrived at the diner he found that Reid was already there waiting for Luke.

Luke entered the diner and was greeted by Henry. Luke managed to say hello to Henry while keeping his eyes firmly on Reid.

"Hi Reid," Luke said softly as he reached the table that Reid was sitting at.

Reid visibly relaxed when Luke sat down.

Once again Reid reached across the table as an invitation to hold Luke's hand. Luke smiled and let out a breath he hadn't been aware that he was holding as he grasped the older man's hand.

"I hope that you don't mind, but I took the liberty of ordering for you. I'm starving and I didn't want to eat alone," Reid offered up as an explanation. The truth was he had ordered for the two of them so that he had something to do while he waited for Luke.

He hadn't managed to get any work done as he had been too preoccupied by Luke's reaction to his question about Luke's scar. He hadn't meant to upset the younger man, he just wanted to understand Luke's medical history.

He could have looked up Luke's records at Memorial, but he felt that that would have been an invasion of privacy, so instead he had waited until Luke was there to explain it himself.

"So what did you order for me?" Luke asked curiously.

"Chilli and corn bread with a coke to drink., I know that you like their chilli because that's what you brought for the plane trip to Dallas," Reid answered with a slight smile.

"An excellent choice, thanks," Luke replied.

The two men then lapsed into silence, both of them knowing what they were supposed to be talking about, but neither of them wanting to bring it up.

Reid opened his mouth to broach the subject when Henry arrived with their food.

"Thanks Henry," Luke said smiling warmly at the other man.

"You're welcome Luke. I hope that everything is to your liking," he added throwing a pointed look at Reid.

"Everything looks great, Henry. You know that I love your chilli."

"Well that's great. Enjoy," he told them before sauntering back to the kitchen.

"So," Reid started with his mouth full of the club sandwich he was eating. "You were going to tell me about your kidney transplant."

Luke gulped audibly, and looked scared, but he nodded in agreement.

Luke ate a spoonful of chilli and then a long drink of his coke before taking a deep breath to steady himself.

He stared at Reid who was staring back at Luke warmly, so Luke began to tell his story.

"Well the short answer as to why I had to have a kidney transplant is that I abused alcohol while I was a teenager," Luke began.

Reid was shocked by this answer, but tried to keep his face as neutral as possible.

"So now tell me the longer answer," Reid coaxed, keeping his voice as gentle as possible.

Luke sighed, "are you sure that you want to hear all of the gory details of my misspent youth?"

"Yes," Reid stated emphatically. "I want to know everything about you."

"Remember when you told me that you realized that you were gay when you were 9 years old and that you were completely fine with that information?"

Reid nodded, not wanting to interrupt Luke's story.

"Well, it wasn't quite like that for me. First of all I didn't really figure out that I was gay until I was in high school. I mean I knew that I wasn't interested in girls, but I just figured that I was a late bloomer. I just didn't get why all of my friends were so interested in boobs, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah," Reid smiled. "Girl parts are kind of gross," he concurred with a slight shudder.

"Well anyways, I was best friends with a boy named Kevin and gradually I realized that I had feelings, other than friendship, for him. I started dreaming about him all the time, and every time we were together I kept staring at him, desperately wanting to touch him and of course I was hoping that he felt the same way about me."

"Is this the straight guy you mentioned having a crush on the other night?" Reid inquired.

"Yes," Luke answered with a sigh. "I finally screwed up the courage to come out to Kevin, partly because I wanted to be honest about who I was and partly in the hopes of him telling me that he was gay too."

"I take it he wasn't the most sensitive guy to come out to," Reid stated, feeling angry at the unknown boy.

"No, he completely freaked out on me and so I ended up alienating the first boy that I was infatuated with. The worst part was that I also lost my best friend. I was devastated. I just wanted to escape from myself."

Reid nodded, his heart hurting at the thought of the enormous amount of pain that Luke, beautiful Luke had gone through.

"So alcohol became my new best friend. It allowed me to escape into numbness."

"Where were your parents, didn't they see what was going on, how much pain you were in?" Reid asked feeling angry with Lily and Holden.

Luke shrugged, "they were going through their own problems. I hadn't come out to them at that point, although I think that my dad guessed that I had feelings for Kevin."

Luke felt the tears streaming down his face again. 'God I'm a mess. Reid must hate me now. I'm sure that he just wants to leave and forget that he ever met me.'

Reid stood up.

Meanwhile Henry had been watching the interaction between Luke and Reid with growing concern. He didn't know what they were talking about, but he could tell from Luke's body language that the young man was terribly upset. Reid he noticed, continued to eat his lunch, nodding occasionally, but not really supporting Luke.

Then Henry noticed that Luke was crying, not loudly, just gently letting the tears run down his face. It was heartbreaking to watch. He looked over to see if Reid was going to comfort him when he noticed that Reid was getting up.

Henry gaped at Reid, ready to step in to rescue Luke. "I knew Reid was heartless," Henry muttered to himself, hurrying over to rescue Luke.

He was stopped in his tracks as he saw that Reid wasn't leaving, he was merely moving to the other side of the table so that he could sit right beside Luke and comfort him.

'Maybe I've misjudged him,' Henry admitted to himself grudgingly.

As soon as Reid sat down beside Luke, he put his arm around the younger man, trying his best to comfort Luke.

Luke couldn't believe that Reid was still there. He moved his body closer to warmth of Reid's body, tucking his head onto the older man's shoulder.

"You must hate me," Luke whispered into Reid's neck.

Reid jerked away from Luke so that he could look the younger man in the eye. "I could never hate you Luke, never. Drinking your way into kidney failure was stupid, but it wasn't entirely your fault. You must have been in an enormous amount of pain to get to that point. You were just a kid. I'm just sorry that you had to go through that." He gently ran his thumb over Luke's face to wipe away the blonde's tears.

The two men sat there for a long time. Reid gently running one hand through Luke's hair while using his other hand to hold one of Luke's. Luke had never felt so safe before. He wanted to stay there forever.

Eventually, Reid decided he needed to get Luke home. He could tell that the younger man was exhausted.

"Come on Luke, I think that it's time to get you home."

Luke looked stricken, he wanted to stay with Reid, but he didn't want to force Reid to spend time with him. So Luke stood up, and dug his car keys out of his pocket.

"Put those away," Reid stated sternly. "You're in no condition to drive. I'll drive you here tomorrow morning to pick up your car."

"Okay," Luke responded feeling bewildered.

Reid left money on the table to cover the bill as well as a large tip, as they had stayed at the diner for a long time, and hadn't been interrupted by annoying wait staff. Reid had appreciated the privacy, particularly for Luke's sake.

"Hank, Luke is leaving his car here overnight. We'll pick it up tomorrow morning," Reid stated.

"Sure, no problem," Henry nodded. 'Would it kill Reid to say please and thank-you? Why can't he call me Henry?' He let it go because even he had to admit that Reid was taking excellent care of Luke.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing Luke and Reid

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid.

Rating PG 13

A/N Well I have had a couple of really emotional days personally so I have rewritten the second half of this chapter. As a result the chapter is fluffier than I had first intended. I hope that you like it!

Luke was surprised when Reid pulled up in front of Katie's apartment building.

"Do you want me to wait in the car?" Luke asked Reid.

"What are you talking about, Luke? What would you be waiting for?"

"Uh… you, aren't you taking me home?" Luke asked feeling very confused.

_Oh crap he doesn't want to stay here with me. What should I do, I mean I want; okay I need to stay with him to make sure that he's okay, but I am __not __ready to face Lily again. Well I guess that I had better take him home._

"Well uh I thought that maybe, you um could spend the night here, uh with me," Reid mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

Luke just stared at Reid, not sure that he had heard the other man correctly.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck clearly he doesn't want to stay with me. I should never have asked him about his fucking scar. I am such an idiot. Now he knows that I want him to stay, why did I say all of that out loud? _

"Okay, I'll take you home," Reid stated while buckling his seatbelt.

"Wait," Luke stammered. "Do you really want me to stay with you?"

"Yes," Reid answered honestly, "but you shouldn't feel obligated." The last thing Reid wanted was for Luke to stay out of pity for him. _Oh my God, I am a twelve year old girl. When have I ever worried about someone feeling sorry for me? I barely recognize myself._

"Why?" asked Luke.

"Why what?" Reid asked feeling like he was trapped in an alternate universe, where nothing made sense. _All I wanted to do was take Luke home; my home so that I could keep an eye on him to make sure that he was okay. Why didn't Luke understand that? It was so obvious_.

"Uh…why do you want me to stay?" Luke asked quietly. The last thing he wanted was for Reid to invite him over because he felt sorry for him_. God doesn't he know that I know that I'm pathetic. I was crying, in public. I'm such a loser._

Reid just gaped at Luke. _Oh my God, how do I answer that question without sounding completely pathetic? Oh well, I might as well just spit it out, or he'll leave and maybe decide that I'm more trouble than I'm worth._

"I want you to stay because I'm worried about you. I made you relive what must have been the worst time of your life and for that I apologize. I wasn't expecting you to have experienced quite that much drama in your life."

Luke snorted. _If you only knew how much drama I have experienced in my life you would run for the hills_.

_Oh my God, why did he laugh at that statement surely to God he can't have more drama than that in his past, can he?_

"So you feel sorry for me? That's why you want me to stay?" Luke asked accusingly.

"What?" Reid exclaimed, shocked that that's what Luke thought he meant. "No, I'm worried about you, because I care about you, Luke not because I feel sorry for you.

Please stay with me." Reid knew he was begging, but at this point he no longer cared about his pride. He just wanted to be with Luke.

Luke beamed at Reid. "I'll stay," he murmured. "Thanks for inviting me."

Reid let out the breath he hadn't been aware he had been holding. 'Luke is staying' his brain kept screaming happily inside his head.

As they walked into the apartment, Reid called out a hello to Katie but there was no answer. Reid walked into the kitchen and found a note attached to the fridge.

Dear Reid:

Jacob and I are spending the night at Margo's

See you tomorrow.

Katie.

"Well it looks like we have the place to ourselves," Reid said showing the note to Luke.

"Looks that way," Luke agreed with a sly grin.

"Do you want to order a pizza for dinner?" Reid asked ignoring the smile that was spreading across Luke's face.

"Sure, whatever you want," Luke said, with a leer.

'We are not having sex tonight, we are not having sex tonight," Reid kept repeating to himself silently. He knew that Luke was fragile and he didn't want to take advantage of the younger man, so he had to stay strong. 'He has got to stop looking at me like that or I am not going to be able to resist him.'

"Great, I'll just order us a pizza," Reid said happy to have something to do.

'We're going to have sex tonight; we're going to have sex TONIGHT!' Luke's brain was screaming at him happily. Luke couldn't believe that this was turning into one of the best days of his life. First Reid had been so supportive and understanding and now he had brought him home. Katie was spending the night somewhere else! If that wasn't a sign he didn't know what was! Oh my God we're going to have SEX TONIGHT!'

Luke sat down on the couch and waited for Reid to join him.

'Why is he looking at me with those sexy eyes? How am I going to resist him? Maybe I should have dropped him off at Lily's after all," Reid sighed and sat down on the couch as far away from Luke as was humanly possible.

'Why is he sitting so far away from me?' Luke wondered and moved over so that he was sitting right beside Reid, their legs now touching.

'His leg is touching mine! Why did he move over, hasn't he heard of personal space? Reid jumped up to get them something to drink. When he came back from the fridge he silently cursed Katie for not having more furniture. He had to sit on the couch with Luke and Luke had positioned himself in the middle of the couch so it was going to be really hard to stay away from him.

Reid sat down as far away from Luke as he could, which was not far enough. Once again, Luke moved closer to Reid.

"What is wrong with you?" Luke asked starting to get annoyed with Reid's weird behaviour.

"What are you talking about?" Reid stalled trying to fake innocence and failing.

Luke just stared at him in disbelief.

The doorbell rang signalling the arrival of the pizza boy. 'Thank God,' Reid thought to himself. 'This guy is getting a huge tip!'

Reid busied himself with setting the table while Luke just sat on the couch and fretted. _What happened? Reid was so sweet before and now he's treating me like he can't stand me. Why did he insist that I stay if he doesn't want to be near me? _

"Dinner's ready," Reid called from the kitchen.

Luke came to the table to see that Reid had sat them as far away from each other as possible.

Luke sighed, heavily, and sat down.

Reid was relieved that Luke had just sat at the place he had set for him he didn't notice that Luke was looking annoyed. Reid needed the space in order to calm himself down.

_I can handle this as long as I don't touch him. If I touch him I won't be able to hold back and I know that having sex with Luke tonight would be a mistake. He's emotional and vulnerable and it wouldn't be fair to take advantage of him._ Reid looked up and found himself being sucked into two brown orbs of desire. Reid tried to look away but he couldn't, he was mesmerized by Luke. _Shit, shit, shit I should never have looked at him. How can he look at me that way? _Reid could feel his hands itching to touch Luke. He desperately wanted to reach out and hold Luke's hand._ No no no. I can't let myself touch him or I won't be able to stop. _"Christ," Reid yelped as he felt Luke's leg rubbing against his under the table, but he couldn't pull away.

Luke pulled his leg away, feeling hurt. _What is wrong with him? I saw desire in his eyes when he looked at me a minute ago and now he's acting like I've burned him._

"Reid, what's going on? Maybe I should just go home," Luke stated sadly.

"No," Reid exclaimed emphatically. "Please don't leave."

"Well then tell me what's going on? Why don't you want to be close to me? It's like you're afraid to touch me."

"I am afraid to touch you," Reid answered quietly.

"Why? You were never afraid to touch me before."

"I'm terrified that once I start touching you, I won't be able to stop," Reid admitted.

Luke smiled so brightly it almost hurt to look at it.

"Why would you have to stop? I'm hoping that you won't."  
Reid groaned. "I don't think that we should have sex tonight," Reid said sadly.

"What, are you talking about? This is the perfect opportunity. We're alone with a room just around the corner that has a bed and perhaps a lock on the door. Or have you just decided that you don't want to have sex with me because I'm damaged?" Luke asked feeling hurt, angry and humiliated all at the same time.

Reid couldn't take the pain that he saw in Luke's beautiful brown eyes. What hurt more than anything was knowing that he had put it there. So Reid did the only thing that he could possibly do he got up and walked over to Luke so that he could comfort the younger man.

Reid sat down on the chair right beside Luke and took the other man's face in his hands.

He just sat there for a moment just holding Luke's face and staring into Luke's eyes, hoping to convey as much emotion as he could with that look. Reid knew that words were not his strength, but he also knew that he was going to have to try so that he could hopefully take away some if not all of Luke's pain.

"Luke," he began quietly. "Of course I want to have sex with you. I've wanted to have sex with you for a long, long time."

Luke snorted sceptically.

"You're requiring proof?" Reid joked.

Luke nodded, feeling deathly serious.

Reid sighed as he noted the need for reassurance in Luke's eyes. Reid reached out and took Luke's left hand with his right and let Luke feel his achingly hard cock.

Luke's eyes grew wide and he licked his cherry red lips eliciting a groan from Reid's lips and a twitch from Reid's dick, which in turn caused a huge smile on Luke's face.

Reid reluctantly removed Luke's hand, before things got anymore out of his control.

Luke's face fell as he waited for Reid to explain himself.

"I don't think that we should have sex tonight because I don't want to take advantage of you and have you regret this. You have had a very emotional day and I don't want to pile anything more on you. Please just let me take care of you," Reid pleaded with him.

Reid knew he had said the wrong thing when he saw the tears form in Luke's eyes. _Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why am I so bad at communicating? God the last thing that I wanted to do was to make him cry. Fuck, I am the worst boyfriend ever. Fuck!...What? _That was the last thought that he had in his head because now all he could do was feel Luke's warm lips pressed against his.Luke's tongue demanding entrance into his mouth, Reid opened his mouth, how could he not? Luke's tongue was in his mouth, tasting him, exploring every inch of his own tongue and then it was gone.

Reid moaned at the loss and slowly opened his eyes coming back to reality. Luke was standing up pulling Reid up with him. Suddenly Luke's body was crushing into Reid's holding him as closely as humanly possible. Reid reached out his arms to wrap Luke up in them. Reid had never been a big fan of hugs but somehow standing here pressed against Luke, feeling Luke's body pressing back, he felt whole. _Oh my God if it feels this good to hug him fully clothed how amazing is it going to feel when we are naked with my cock buried deep within Luke. Fuck, fuck, fuck, stop thinking about that, just enjoy this, and for fuck's sake breathe. _

"You are the best boyfriend ever!" Luke whispered into Reid's ear. His warm breath sending messages directly to Reid's cock.

_Focus, for Christ's sake, focus!_

"No one ever tries to take care of me," Luke pulled away slightly so that he could look directly into Reid's eyes. "Thank-you," Luke said with such sincerity in his eyes that it almost hurt read to look at him.

Reid stared at Luke blinking rapidly. "I love you, Luke." _Oh my God! Did I just say that out loud? Did he hear me?...what? Oh god, what did Luke say?_

Reid just stared at Luke willing the younger man to repeat what he had just said.

"I love you too! So stop freaking out, okay?" Luke smiled warmly and then they were kissing and both men were thinking 'he loves me, he loves me, he loves me!'


	9. Chapter 9

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Summary: This is the story of the courtship of Luke and Reid.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating NC17

Warning: This is their first time together. So this chapter is just porn. *blushes*

A/N Two things: I am not sure how many scars Luke has from the bullet wounds he endured from Noah's father, for purposes of this story he has at least two and they are on his back. Also I occasionally have the boys think random thoughts during sex, please let me know if you find them distracting and/or annoying. Thanks. Please let me know what you think.

Reid took Luke's hand and led him down the hall to his bedroom. As they reached the door, Reid turned to Luke "are you sure that you want to do this?" Reid still wasn't sure that this was a good idea, but he also wasn't sure he was going to last the night without attacking Luke, especially when Luke appeared to be willing.

Luke smiled and kissed Reid, deeply trying to convey just how sure he was. When he broke the kiss he looked directly into Reid's eyes, "I've never been surer of anything in my life."

Reid groaned and opened the door. Once inside the room, Reid closed and locked the door, just in case. After all this was Oakdale and who knew who had a key to Katie's place. If they were going to do this, Reid was determined that they would **not **be interrupted.

"Is your cell phone off?" Reid asked Luke. Luke immediately pulled the phone out of his pocket and turned it off.

"Is yours off?"

"Yes, I turned it off when I got to Al's. My beeper is on, but I'm not on call so we should be safe. I always have my beeper on, just in case, sorry."

Luke kissed Reid lightly on the mouth. "It's okay; I know that it's part of your job."

Reid smiled at Luke's understanding.

The two men just stood there staring at one another as the realization of what was about to happen between them began to sink in.

Luke smiled and licked his lips and began to undress himself.

Reid stilled Luke's hands. Luke looked at Reid with confusion in his eyes.

"I want us to go slowly and enjoy this. We have the time and I don't want us to be rushed, okay?"

Luke nodded, secretly thrilled that Reid wanted to go slowly. _Christ I'm nervous, I'm excited, but if I'm honest with myself I have to admit that I'm nervous. I really, really don't want to disappoint him._

Reid read the expression on Luke's face correctly. "Are you nervous, Luke?"

_Shit he must think that I'm a stupid kid._ "Yeah," Luke murmured, feeling embarrassed.

"Don't be nervous and don't be embarrassed. You can't possibly do anything wrong, okay? If I do something that you don't like just tell me to stop, okay? No judgement. I just want you to feel amazing, the way you make me feel. I promised I would take care of you, so please let me."

The combination of Reid's words and his voice managed to calm Luke down. _How does he do that? Oh crap he's waiting for me to answer. What was the question, again?_

Luke merely smiled and nodded and fortunately that was the sign that Reid was looking for.

Reid began to slowly undress Luke, Revealing his creamy white skin an inch at a time. Reid had planned to take all of Luke's clothes off at once so that he could drink in the beauty of Luke's naked body, but he found that he couldn't wait. As soon as Luke's shirt was off, Reid was compelled to kiss and taste Luke's torso. _Oh my God, how have I managed to live without tasting him for so long? God he tastes amazing._

He began leaving a trail of open mouthed kisses all over Luke's chest while his hands caressed Luke's back. _My God his skin is so soft. I wonder what he uses to make it feel sooooooo good._

He moved up Luke's chest, so that he could run his tongue along Luke's collar bone up to his neck. He began to concentrate on Luke's pulse point, biting it and then soothing it with his tongue. Luke tilted his head to the left to allow for more access. Reid smiled into Luke's neck happy that he was enjoying this too. _God how did I ever imagine that I could resist him? Wha…?_ Then his brain registered that while he had been kissing Luke's neck, the younger man had managed to remove his shirt and now they were standing in the room shirtless, their torso's pressed together and it was electric. _Skin on skin, oh my God, I want mooooooorrrrrre._

After that they were kissing with a passion that neither had ever felt before. Their tongues were exploring, playing and battling for domination, while their hands were busily trying to rid the other of his pants.

Finally they were both naked and their equally hard, dripping cocks touched for the first time. It was intense, it was magical the sensation almost toppled the pair of them. It took all of Reid's strength to keep them upright. He decided it was time to move to the bed. He gently guided Luke backwards and then pushed Luke down on the bed. Reid leaned in and kissed Luke on the mouth, gently and then rolled the younger man over so that he was lying on his stomach. Reid covered Luke's back with his body. "Are you okay?" he whispered into Luke's ear.

"Mmmmmhmmm," came the muffled reply.

Reid spent a few minutes running his tongue along the shell of Luke's ear. Nibbling here and there before moving onto Luke's back.

He took his time exploring Luke's back with his tongue. He paid special attention to the scars that were left behind from the bullet wounds inflicted by Noah's dad. Reid wished that his tongue could take them away along with all of the pain that they had caused. He knew that this wasn't possible, so he settled for the incredible noises that Luke was making as he gently caressed the scars with his tongue.

His tongue glided downwards until it landed on the dip between Luke's ass cheeks. He gently pulled them apart to reveal Luke's hole. He was surprised to feel Luke tense. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Luke breathed out, but Reid heard the uncertainty in his voice.

Reid stopped what he was doing and covered Luke's body once more with his own. "Do you want me to stop?" he whispered in Luke's ear.

"Nnnnooooo." Luke whispered back, sounding embarrassed.

Reid shifted his body and forced Luke to look at him.

"Tell me what you want," Reid demanded, gently.

"I uh want you to uh keep going, uh but you don't have to if uh you don't want to," Luke said, his face bright red.

"Do you want my tongue in your ass?"

"Yesssss," Luke hissed out.

"Say it then, you have to tell me what you want."

_Oh my God, I have to say that, out loud. Why on earth did I tense up?_ But of course he knew why, he hadn't wanted Reid to do anything that the other man didn't want to do.

"Luke," Reid gently prodded. "Tell me what you want."

"I want your tongue in my ass, now…please."

Reid chuckled, "I want that too," he whispered.

Luke moaned with pleasure. _How does he always know what I need to hear?_

All thoughts quickly left Luke's head as his body was overcome by the amazing sensations course through his body courtesy of Reid's talented tongue.

Reid knew that Luke was enjoying himself, not only due to the glorious noises that were coming from his throat but also by the way his hips kept pushing against Reid trying to pull his tongue further inside.

Reid moaned in pleasure knowing that he was pleasing Luke. Knowing that Reid was enjoying this only served to intensify Luke's experience.

Reid could tell that Luke was close, hell he was close too, but he didn't want either of them to come yet, so he reluctantly pulled his tongue out of Luke's beautiful ass.

Luke whimpered in disappointment, not wanting to relinquish Reid's tongue.

"I have more things planned for you," Reid promised as he rolled Luke onto his back.

Luke shivered in anticipation.

Reid covered Luke's body with his own and then captured Luke's luscious cherry red lips with his own. _I wonder what kind of lip balm he uses to keep his beautiful lips so kissable._ After that he was too busy kissing those lips to think anything at all.

Luke was overwhelmed with the taste of himself on Reid's delectable tongue. This was the most erotic thing that Luke had ever experienced. _Wow I can't wait to do that to him. I only hope that he likes it half as much as I did. _

After that, Luke's brain shut down again as his body was once again flooded with the incredible sensations that Reid's tongue was creating as it travelled down his skin.

Reid was taking careful inventory of Luke's body. He didn't want to miss a spot. When his tongue travelled down to the tip of Luke's transplant scar, he hesitated, but only for a second, to marvel at the miracle that had saved Luke's life.

"You don't have to kiss it, I know that it's ugly," Luke murmured sadly.

Reid took a moment to look up into Luke's eyes. "It's not ugly; I was just giving thanks to it for saving your life."

Luke's eyes widened in surprise and then softened with love at what Reid had just said.

Reid began kissing Luke's scar, laving it with his tongue, biting it gently and then soothing it once more. Luke shuddered with pleasure and his eyes darkened with desire.

Reid moved down from the scar and licked Luke's slit with his tongue. Luke's whole body shuddered at the sensation. _God I love how responsive he is!_

Reid continued to tease Luke's penis with his tongue for awhile, and then he took the whole member in his mouth. Luke began fucking his mouth and Reid relished the sensation until he heard Luke say "stop."

Reid relinquished Luke's dick with a slight pop and looked up at Luke questioningly.

"I don't want to come like that," Luke stated. "I want to come with you buried deep inside me," Luke continued, with only the faintest sign of a blush on his beautiful face.

"Please Reid; I need you inside me…now."

Reid smiled, "I need that too, so badly, you have no idea," he said as he reached into his bedside table for a condom and a bottle of lube.

"Uh…Reid… it's been a long time so…" Luke said, blushing furiously.

"Don't worry, Luke. I promise I 'll take care of you."

Luke smiled with relief and anticipation.

Reid poured some lube onto his hand, carefully coating three fingers; he also poured some of the liquid directly onto Luke's hole. He then gently inserted one finger into Luke's entrance. Luke gasped at the intrusion.

"Sorry," he muttered. _What's wrong with me? I want this so why can't I just let it happen?_

"Luke, don't be sorry, just breathe and let me in."

Reid began kissing Luke's back, letting his tongue draw slow circles near Luke's scars.

Luke began to relax and Reid was able to get his finger inside. When he could feel that Luke was completely relaxed he inserted a second finger. Luke inhaled sharply, but still accepted the second finger. Reid began scissoring his fingers, carefully stretching Luke's hole. _I don't want to hurt him. God please let him enjoy this. I want him so badly._

Reid then managed to get his third finger in. Now that Luke was stretched he allowed his fingers to go a little deeper until his knuckles brushed against Luke's sweet spot.

Luke groaned with pleasure, which made Reid smile.

Reid continued to tease Luke until he thought he was going to burst. He gently removed his fingers, which caused Luke to whimper at the loss. Then he sheathed his achingly hard cock with the condom and positioned himself to enter Luke.

Reid paused and Luke barked, "Fuck…me…now!"

Reid locked eyes with Luke and saw the desire that he was sure was mirrored in his own, begging him to enter.

Reid entered Luke, willing himself to go slowly, for all he wanted to do was slam all the way into Luke and fuck him into the mattress.

More than that he wanted to make sure that it was good for Luke, so he went slowly, easing himself inside an inch at a time. Staring at Luke the whole time to watch for signs of pain, the only time Luke flinched was when Reid was all the way in. Reid waited and reminded Luke to breathe. Luke calmed down and adjusted to Reid allowing himself a moment to freak out. _Reid is inside of me, Reid is inside of me. Holy Fuck Reid is Inside of ME!_

Luke looked Reid in the eye, and without a hint of embarrassment said "fuck me now!"

Reid began to move inside of Luke, pulling out slowly and then slipping back in. _Oh my God, I'm fucking Luke, I'M FUCKING LUKE!" _He began to pick up the pace. He tried to go slowly, he really wanted this to last, but his body took over. Soon he was pounding into Luke at just the right angle to hit Luke's prostate on every down stroke and Luke was moving against him, trying to keep Reid all the way inside. The sensations were intoxicating. He knew that he was close, and then he heard Luke say.

"Touch me, Reid. Please touch me."

_Oh my fucking God!_

He grabbed Luke's cock and began stroking him matching the rhythm that he was using to slam into Luke's ass and within a few strokes he heard Luke scream his name and felt Luke's sweet come coating his chest. Luke's ass clamped down on his cock taking Reid over the edge as he screamed Luke's name.

Reid collapsed onto Luke's chest breathing hard as he rode out the last few tremors of his orgasm. Reluctantly, he pulled out of Luke, as gently as he could and then tied off the condom throwing it haphazardly on the floor.

"Holy fuck, that was amazing," he managed to splutter out as he rolled off of Luke.

"Yeah?" Luke asked, feeling a little uncertain.

Reid propped himself up on one elbow and stared down at Luke. "Wasn't it good for you?" he asked feeling unusually uncertain. Reid was extremely confident in his bedroom skills and Luke had seemed to enjoy it, but now hearing the question in Luke's voice caused Reid to doubt himself.

Luke smiled up at Reid, shocked to see the uncertainty in the older mans eyes. "That was incredible. I uh I've never felt quite like that before. I really felt like we were one. It was amazing and my orgasm was intense."

Reid visibly relaxed. "Thank God. I was worried that you hadn't enjoyed it," Reid admitted. "Wait a minute if it was that good for you, why did you have a question in your voice.

Luke blushed, "I wasn't sure that it had been as good for you as it was for me," he shrugged.

"Luke it was amazing, unfuckingbelievably amazing! God I love you," he finished and then he leaned over and kissed Luke as passionately as he could. Trying to convince Luke with actions as words failed to convey the emotions he was feeling at that moment.

"God, I love you too," Luke responded when the kiss was finally broken. They both lay there for a moment grinning at each other and feeling like the luckiest two people on the planet.


	10. Chapter 10

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Henry, Casey and Ali.

Summary: This is AU. This is the story of Reid and Luke's courtship. It started as a fix it fic and took a turn.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating PG 14

Warning: Strong Language

Luke woke up the next morning sprawled across Reid's chest. It took a moment for him to figure out where he was and what he was doing here. As sleep began to fade and reality crept into his consciousness a huge smile began to spread across his face. _I had sex with Reid, not just sex, amazing; mind blowing, incredible sex and I have the sore ass to prove it._

Luke could not remember ever waking up feeling this complete. He moved slightly so that he could look at Reid's beautiful face as he slept. As he moved he must have disturbed Reid, because the other man moaned and mumbled "Luuukke" in his sleep.

Luke smiled to know that Reid was thinking about him even when he was unconscious.

Luke was enjoying lying in Reid's bed and just staring at him. _He loves me, he Loves Me, Holy crap Reid Oliver LOVES ME!_ Luke's brain was screaming at him causing him to grin like a loon.

Of course Reid chose that moment to open his eyes. "What's going on? Why are you smiling like a lunatic? Was I talking in my sleep?"

Luke just smiled broader. "No, I'm just happy to be here with you."

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke disregarding the fact that they both had morning breath. The pull was just too strong to be stalled by anything as pedantic as a lack of fresh breath.

When Reid broke the kiss, he smiled at Luke marvelling at the fact that Luke was really here with him and not just a dream. "I need a shower," he stated getting out of bed.

Luke's face fell as he watched Reid walking toward the bathroom.

Without turning around Reid called out "care to join me?"

"Yes," Luke practically yelled as he jumped out of bed to follow Reid.

The two men had a long, hot, steamy shower together then reluctantly got dressed and ready to face the day.

"Do you have time to have breakfast with me at Al's?" Luke asked hopefully, even though he didn't really have the time, he wanted to hold on to Reid for as long as possible.

"Sure," Reid replied, even though he really needed to get to the hospital, he wanted to stay with Luke for as long as possible.

Meanwhile at Al's

"So why did you want to have breakfast with me this morning, Ali?" Casey asked, feeling cranky about having to get up earlier than usual.

"It's about Luke, I'm worried about him."

Casey rolled his eyes. "You dragged my ass out of bed to talk about Luke?" _Fucking unbelievable. _

"Casey, Luke is your best friend and I think that he's in trouble. I really need your help here."

Sighing audibly, Casey responded "alright, what kind of trouble has Luke managed to get himself into this time."

"I think he's seeing Dr. Oliver," Ali replied, biting her lip.

"Okay… so what sort of trouble is he in?"

"Oh my God Casey, that's the trouble that he's in! Didn't you hear what I said? I think that he's seeing Dr. Oliver… romantically!" Ali exclaimed. _Why are men so dumb?_

"That's why you're so freaked out? Why is it any of your business who Luke is dating?" Casey asked, hoping that Ali was going to at least pay for his breakfast.

"Casey," Ali responded as patiently as she could. "Luke is my friend and I want him to be happy. Dr. Oliver is so cold and rude, and Luke is so nice and gentle, I just don't want him to get hurt. Noah loves Luke and I know that he wants Luke back, I think that we should help them get back together."

"Ali, we've helped them get back together in the past and it never lasts. Maybe they're just not 'meant to be', or whatever. We're not exactly relationship experts ourselves," Casey added, pointedly. "I think we should just stay out of Luke's love life unless we know that he's hurting."

"That's just it, I saw him yesterday, after he came out of Dr. Oliver's office, and he just looked broken. I'm worried that Dr. Oliver has already hurt him."

"Did Luke tell you that, or are you just guessing?" Casey asked.

"He didn't say anything," Ali admitted, "but you know Luke, he probably blames himself for whatever horrible thing Dr. Oliver did or said to him. I really think that Luke should be with Noah, at least Noah is a nice guy."

"Ali, I know that you like Noah, but those two have broken up, like a zillion times. I wasn't even surprised when they broke up the last time, they just didn't seem happy together, either of them. If Luke wants to date Dr. Oliver, who are we to say that he shouldn't?"

"But…but….but I'm only thinking about Luke's happiness. I just can't imagine that he could be happy with someone like Dr. Oliver," she finished with obvious distaste.

"Well I've seen the way those two look at each other when they don't realize that they are being observed, and I can tell you that they are attracted to each other. I'm not saying I think that they are going to get married or become 'life partners' or whatever, but what's wrong with having a little fun with someone that you're attracted to?"

"Casey, we're talking about Luke, He doesn't do casual sex. He loves people with his whole heart, you know that. I'm just worried that he's going to put his heart out there and Dr. Oliver is going to stomp on it."

"Ali, you can't protect Luke from himself, and you shouldn't try to. Luke has to live his own life, not the life that you think he should have. I think that you don't like Dr. Oliver and so you're looking for problems when there aren't any. Maybe Dr. Oliver is Luke's rebound guy. Who knows? You don't even know for sure that they are dating, do you?"

"No," Ali admitted, begrudgingly.

"Well then, please let it go, ok?"

Ali was about to nod in agreement, Casey had all but convinced her that Luke would come to his senses, when the door opened and Luke and Dr. Oliver walked in to Al's hand in hand. They were smiling at each other like they were the only two people on the planet.

"Oh my God!" Ali exclaimed.

Casey immediately turned around to see what had captured Ali's attention, and watched Luke and Reid walk over to a booth.

Casey turned back, grinning at Ali. "Well I think you were right about one thing, those two are definitely seeing each other. From the blissed out looks on there faces I'm thinking that they had sex last night, I wouldn't be surprised if Luke is doing the walk of shame." Casey smiled, happy for his friend.

"Why are you smiling? This is terrible. Do you really think that they've had sex, already? Even if they are seeing each other, they can't have been together that long. They should have waited. What would Noah think if he heard? He would be so hurt."

"Hypocrisy, thy name is Alison. Who are you to pass judgement on ANYONE'S sex life? Aren't you the one who had sex with Mick Dante just before our wedding? Weren't you the porn star? Didn't you have sex with Chris while you were engaged to Aaron? You weren't that concerned with Aaron's or my feelings and we were engaged, Noah and Luke are broken up."

Ali had least had the decency to blush. "Casey, I know that I've made a lot of mistakes and I regret them all. I just don't want Luke to feel the same pain that I do when he regrets this."

Casey just gaped at Ali. "You know what I think? I think that this is about you. You don't like Dr. Oliver and you're afraid that if Luke is dating him then you are going to have to socialize with him and you don't want to," Casey stated. "You know what that is, Ali? Selfishness. This is not about Luke at all, this is about what **you **want and that's just wrong," Casey finished and stood up. "Thanks for breakfast."

Casey immediately walked over to the booth where Reid and Luke were sitting. The two men didn't notice his approach at all. Casey cleared his throat loudly to get Luke's attention, startling the couple out of their reverie.

"Uh… hi Casey, how are you?" Luke asked, his manners kicking in before his brain.

Reid just glared at the intruder.

Casey just grinned at the pair. "I just wanted to come over and say hi to you both," he said making eye contact with both men. Then he leaned over and whispered "congratulations Dude, I'm happy for you," in Luke's ear.

Luke smiled at Casey, "thanks."

"Well I've got to get to work, so I guess I'll see you later," Casey said and waved good-bye.

"See ya," echoed Luke.

"What was that all about?" Reid asked as he watched Casey leave.

Luke turned to Reid and smiled. "I think that you just got the Casey Hughes seal of approval."

"Did I need that?"

"Well, Casey is my best friend, so it can't hurt," Luke replied, but noting that Reid looked a little uncertain he added "no you didn't need it, you already had mine."

Reid nodded and then kissed Luke, "good, you have mine too."

The pair sat there for awhile until Henry came by with the bill.

Henry had seen them come in. He had waved hello to them but had been patently ignored. They had walked over to that booth and sat down together. Henry noted that they couldn't keep their hands off each other. They weren't making out like teenagers; rather they just seemed to need constant tactile contact. Even when the food came, and Henry knew how important food was to Reid, they couldn't stop touching each other and sharing little smiles.

Clearly Reid had managed to "comfort" Luke last night. Henry had never seen Luke look so happy. _Go figure, Luke Snyder and Dr. Oliver as a couple, who'd have thunk it? On the other hand people on the outside thought that about him and Barbara so who was he to judge? As long as they were happy, and they certainly looked happy, what else mattered?_

"Whenever you're ready," Henry said handing them the bill.

"Thanks, Henry," Luke replied reaching for his wallet. "Thanks for letting me leave my car here last night. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, Luke."

"Well I guess that we should get going," Luke said turning to Reid.

"Yeah, I really need to get to the hospital." _Christ I'm late._

"I have to go home and change and then go to the foundation, I didn't quite make it in yesterday."

"Are you free tonight, for dinner?" Reid asked trying not to show how badly he wanted to see Luke again.

Luke beamed at him. "Dinner sounds great! Why don't you text me with the details?"

"I will."

Reid walked Luke to his car and kissed him soundly good-bye.

"See ya later," Luke murmured when he broke the kiss.

"Later," Reid agreed.

End Notes: I'm not positive about Alison's behaviour, but I'm pretty sure that she slept with Chris while she was engaged to Aaron, and for purposes of this story she did. LOL.

Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Random nurses and wait staff.

Summary: This is AU. This is the story of the courtship between Reid and Luke.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating PG 14

**Warning: Chris and Ali are in this chapter together. Dun dun dun…*hides***

Reid finally made it into the hospital. He was half an hour late and for the first time in his life, he didn't care. Being with Luke was everything. Luke was consuming his brain in a way that nothing else ever had. Not even brain surgery.

Reid briefly worried about his sanity, but decided that being with Luke was worth the risk.

He looked at his watch and wondered how soon he could leave so that he could see Luke for dinner. _Oh my God, who am I? I don't even care what I have to eat for dinner as long as I get to eat it with Luke. Oh my God, I wonder if I'm going to need a consult. I think that I might need to call Katie. No, not yet. I wonder if it's too soon to call Luke. I had better not I don't want him to know that he has me this unhinged; he might think that I'm too needy. Oh My God, I am a 12 year old girl! God I hope nobody notices! _

As Reid strode toward his office and young nurse approached him.

"Um… Excuse me…Dr. Oliver?" Nurse Julie began nervously.

Reid looked up into her face and smiled. _Oh my God, why is he smiling? What did I do? Oh God, please don't let him fire me._

"Did you have a question for me, uh Julie?" Reid asked pleasantly.

_Oh my God, he used my name; he never uses anyone's name. What does that mean? Oh my God he's starting to look impatient, what should I do? _

Something in Reid's expression brought her out of her internal freak out and she managed to remember her question.

"I just need clarification on the dosage. I think that it should be 30 cc's but your orders look like 300 cc's." Julie explained fully expecting to get yelled at for her inability to read.

"Let me take a look for you. My handwriting is messy," Reid replied with a chuckle. Julie forced herself to keep a straight face. _Who are you and what have you done with Dr. Oliver she wondered feeling a little off balance._

"You're correct the proper dosage is 30 cc's. Thanks for checking."

Julie blinked at him and nodded trying to appear as normal as possible.

Reid continued on to his office, where he could daydream, er work in peace.

Julie on the other hand checked on the patient and then went running back to the nurses' station.

"I just had the weirdest conversation with Dr. Oliver. I asked him a question and he answered me, nicely. I almost fell over. He even called me by name. Do you know what's going on with him?'

Gretchen smiled at her. "Two words, Luke Snyder, they must be dating." Gretchen and the other nurses filled her in on yesterday's events. Commenting on Luke's apparent wardrobe change and wondering what it all meant for them.

"Well here's hoping that some of Luke's kindness rubs off on Dr. Oliver and he becomes more human." Julie stated hopefully.

After that the nurses went back to work, not wanting Dr. Oliver or any other doctor to catch them gossiping.

Reid performed his rounds without incident. He did however find himself distracted several times when he would catch sight of a blonde head. This behaviour did not go unnoticed by the residents who were on rounds with him. They had never seen Dr. Oliver even slightly distracted before and none of them knew the reason why.

After rounds, Reid returned to his office, ostensibly to finish up some paper work, but the truth was he couldn't concentrate. He would look down at his papers and the words would swim in front of him magically transforming themselves into two names. Luke Snyder.

Just as he was about to give up and go to lunch there was a knock on his door.

"Come in," he called out.

The door opened and Luke walked in and closed the door behind him.

"Sorry for just dropping by like this, but …um …"

Reid grabbed Luke and kissed him, hard. His tongue running along Luke's lower lip teasingly, until Reid sucked the whole thing into his mouth, moaning in pleasure at the contact. Their hands were roaming all over each others bodies desperate for the physical contact.

Reid reluctantly broke the kiss when the need for oxygen took over.

He stared at Luke still not quite believing that the younger man was actually here.

"Why are you here?" Reid asked, once he had regained the power of speech, his arms still wrapped around Luke's waist.

"I missed you. I was at my office and I just couldn't focus on any of the things that I needed to be doing. I know that you suggested that we have dinner together, but I was hoping you might have time to have lunch with me, now," Luke rambled on wistfully.

Reid kissed Luke again. "I missed you too," he admitted quietly. "I was just about to go to lunch so this is perfect timing."

Luke's smiled at Reid. "Thanks for not making me feel stupid for barging in like this," Luke said sincerely. _Wow Reid really doesn't seem to mind that I just came over because I missed him. Noah would have yelled at me and sent me packing. Reid actually seems to like having me here. Huh._

"Luke I'm happy to see you, you can come by anytime. Let's go," Reid suggested. "The cafeteria food is not very good, but I really do have to get back to work so that I can still meet you for dinner."

They left Reid's office hand in hand, much to the amusement of the nurses who smiled at each other knowingly, to the cafeteria.

"Do you still want to have dinner with me? You can cancel if you want to," Luke stated hoping that Reid wouldn't actually cancel.

Reid gaped at Luke. "Of course I still want to have dinner with you, unless you're busy later and can't make it." _Oh God, please don't cancel, please don't cancel!_

"No, I'm not busy and I would love to have dinner with you."

"Great, is the Lakeview okay? I know we went there last time, but Oakdale doesn't exactly have an abundance of good restaurants."

"I know," Luke agreed. "The Lakeview is fine. Maybe we can go to a nice restaurant in Chicago some time."

"Yeah, that would be great!"

By this time the pair had reached the cafeteria, and although it was really quite busy, the two of them barely noticed any of the other people.

The two men picked up trays and stood in line to order their cheeseburgers and fries.

They found a table and sat down as close to each other as they possibly could. The two of them looked so sappy that Reid probably would have gagged if he had been looking at them. However, since he was part of the twosome all he could do was enjoy being with Luuukke.

All around them people were looking at them marvelling at the pair that was clearly besotted with each other. A couple of Reid's interns saw them and understood what Reid had been preoccupied with during rounds.

There was one couple in the corner who were not happy with this development.

"What the fuck is Luke doing with that asshole Oliver? Chris asked Ali accusingly.

"Uh, yeah I think that they just started seeing each other. I don't think that it's anything serious. I mean Luke clearly belongs with Noah, or at least someone like Noah. Dr. Oliver is too mean to be with Luke for long."

"I hope you're right, Ali. They look pretty smitten with each other. I've never seen Reid with anybody before, not like that." _Fuck, why does Oliver get to be happy with Luke when I have no one? It's just not fair. I mean I could probably get Ali back, I suppose, but I want somebody great. I mean I'm Chris Hughes and I deserve someone as amazing as me. _

Chris realized that Ali was still droning on about Luke and Reid talking about what a super couple Luke and Noah had been and how Reid was, quite possibly going to ruin that for them. A germ of an idea began to take shape in Chris's brain. _Suppose that Reid really does fall in love with Luke, which looked quite probable from this angle, and then Luke breaks up with Reid and breaks his heart in the process, now that would be fantastic, Having Luke Snyder bring the great Dr. Reid Oliver to his knees._

"Why are you smiling? " Ali wanted to know.

"Oh I was just thinking about what a great couple Noah and Luke were. I really think that we should try to get them back together."

Ali beamed at Chris happy for the support. When Casey had turned her down flat this morning she had considered giving up, but with Chris offering his help, things were looking up.

"We'll need to come up with a plan. Let me think about it for awhile and then we will put it into action. How does that sound?" Chris asked. _I need to control the timing of the plan so that I can ensure that Reid is as devastated as possible._

"That sounds great Chris. I'll try to come up with some ideas as well," Ali responded, smiling brightly. _Hey who knows, maybe Chris and I will get back together, he was pretty good in bed as I recall, and it's been awhile. Hmm._

"Well, thanks for lunch," Luke said, reluctantly standing up. "I really need to get back to the foundation."

"Yeah, I need to get back to work too. I'll walk you to your car."

The two men headed out to the parking lot to find Luke's car.

"Can you pick me up here at 7:00 or would you rather that we just meet at the Lakeview?" Reid asked, for some reason he liked the idea of Luke picking him up so that they could walk into the restaurant as a couple. He wanted people to know that Luke was his.

Luke smiled at Reid. "I would love to pick you up. Should I meet you in your office?"

"Yes," Reid replied and then leaned over and kissed Luke lovingly on the lips. _I really can't get enough of him. How am I going to survive until 7?_ He kissed Luke harder trying to imprint the memory of Luke's luscious lips in his brain to tide him over until dinner._ I am such a sap who am I and do I care? Luke is still kissing me!_

When they broke the kiss the two men just stared at each other with big goofy grins.

"Well I really should be going," Luke said _or I'll never be able to leave._

"Yeah, I should get back to work too," Reid said, really hating having to work for the first time….ever. "Thanks for coming by, I really liked having lunch with you."

"Me too," Luke whispered and then leaned in for one more heart stopping kiss, before getting into his car and driving back to work.


	12. Chapter 12

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Random wait staff and Bob.

Summary: This is AU. This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters.

Rating PG 14

**Warning: Noah and Richard are in this chapter. **

It was 6:45 and Reid was going a little crazy in his office. He had given up on work about a half hour ago and had been waiting for Luke ever since. This had been the least productive day of his career. He had been distracted by thoughts of Luke Snyder the entire day. Thank God he hadn't had a surgery scheduled that day as he wasn't sure if he was capable of the single minded focus required for brain surgery

Ever since lunch he had kept touching his lips remembering how they felt when he had pressed them against Luke's before the other man drove away. He had been touching them so frequently that a nurse actually asked him if he felt a cold sore coming on. It had been mortifying! After that he had retreated into his office to hide. . He was going to have to get over this phase so that he could work properly again. That was part of the problem, for even though he loved his job, he wasn't willing to give up Luke for it. He just needed some balance. So for the rest of the afternoon, Reid had sat in his office trying to work and reminding himself that Luke loved him as a doctor, not some love starved sex slave.

Reid failed at this.

At 6:15 Reid gave up all pretence of working and packed up all of his things in the hopes that Luke would come early. Unfortunately, when he was completely ready to go at 6:30 Luke wasn't there. Reid began to wonder what he could possibly do to fill the time before Luke arrived. He paced, looked at his watch, checked his phone to make sure that it was on, cursed himself for not offering to pick Luke up and then finally realizing that he would look overly pathetic if he were caught blatantly waiting for Luke, he turned his computer back on.

Reid began playing a game of chess on the computer but was unable to concentrate, so he closed it up and switched to solitaire. It was utterly brainless and just what he needed to fill the time.

Finally at 7:00 on the dot, Luke knocked on his door. Reid breathed a huge sigh of relief as he saw the blonde young man walk into his office.

"Are you ready to go?" Luke asked hopefully. He had spent the last hour forcing himself to stare out the window of his office so as not to appear to eager for dinner with Reid.

"Yes, I just need to shut down my computer."

"Oh, I'm sorry if I interrupted you, I can wait in the hall for you if you'd like," Luke offered.

"No need," Reid quickly assured the other man, now that Luke was here; he wasn't going to let him out of his sight. With his luck Luke would run into someone he knew and Reid would be left out in the cold.

Reid shut down his computer, grabbed his jacket, kissed Luke and the two were out the door.

As the two walked hand in hand toward the exit, Reid heard a familiar voice call their names. He stifled a sigh and turned to look at Bob over his shoulder.

"Yes Bob, what can we do for you?" Reid asked as politely as he could manage. Luke squeezed his hand to remind Reid to play nicely.

"I need to speak to both of you. I am happy to meet with you individually, or we could all meet together which ever you prefer."

"Together," they replied in unison, each one smiling.

"Terrific," Bob replied, clapping his hands together. "How is tomorrow at 10:00am?"

The two men looked at each other and nodded.

"Ten would be great, we'll see you then," Luke confirmed.

"Have a good night," Bob replied with just a hint of a smirk.

As the two men walked towards Luke's car they couldn't help wondering why Bob wanted to see both of them the next day.

"Do you have any idea what this meeting is going to be about?" Luke asked cautiously.

"No, not really, I suspect it has something to do with the new neuro wing, because even though you're no longer on the hospital board it is still your foundation that is funding the wing."

Luke nodded. "Yeah that makes sense."

The two men quickly put all thoughts of Bob out of their heads and concentrated on each other.

"Is the Lakeview still okay for dinner?" Luke asked, putting his car in gear.

"Yeah, that's fine. You're mother isn't going to be there is she?" Reid inquired. _Please say no; please say no, I don't think that I'm ready to see Lily again._

Luke laughed, no she's in France checking out her perfume factory, she'll be gone for about a week.

_Well that's interesting information. _"Oh, well I hope that she has a good trip." Reid stated. _Maybe she'll have such a good time in France that she will decide to move there. _

They drove to the restaurant in companionable silence. Reid let his hand rest on Luke's thigh while the other man drove, and Luke kept stealing glances over at Reid's handsome profile every chance he got.

When Luke parked at the Lakeview he leaned over and kissed Reid one more time before getting out of the car. Reid joined Luke and leaned in and nibbled on Luke's ear.

"You know we could just go back to your place and fool around since your mom is out of town," Reid suggested hopefully.

Luke pouted. "No, I want to go on a proper date so that we can talk."

Reid groaned inwardly. "Talking is overrated," he grumbled as he took Luke's hand and led the pair into the restaurant.

The maitre'd' sat them at a lovely table near the window. He set there menu's on either side of the table but Reid wanted to sit beside Luke and so he pulled out the chair beside him for Luke.

The maitre'd' looked pained and asked Luke if he wouldn't be more comfortable sitting across the table from Reid.

"No, I'm fine here, Sam, but thanks for asking," Luke responded with a big smile.

Reid just glared at the other man.

"Luke, I really think that the other patrons would be more comfortable if you sat across form your uh…companion."

"No, "Luke replied firmly narrowing his eyes. "We are not doing anything wrong and if anybody is bothered by us then perhaps they should go somewhere else. My mother would not want customers who were prejudiced against her son," he added with a pointed look.

"Of course, Luke I'm sorry if I have offended you," he apologized.

Reid glared at the man harder and Sam scurried off to greet the next customers.

"Are you going to have him fired?" Luke inquired.

"No," Luke sighed, "he needs this job, he has a wife and three kids to support."

Reid just shook his head incredulously. "You are too kind hearted, Luke. No wonder you run a charitable foundation."

Luke just smiled and shook his head. "So what are you going to have for dinner?"

"I think that I'm going to have the pepper steak that you raved about last time," Reid answered. "Are you going to have the same thing?"

"No, not tonight I think that I'm going to have the grilled chicken breast with lemon and oregano," Luke replied.

"That sounds good, but I think that I will stick to good old red meat," Reid smiled.  
Once they had decided what to order the two men put down their menus and just stared at each other with matching goofy grins.

"So," Luke began after the waiter had taken their orders. "I want to know everything about you."

Reid shrugged. "You already know all of the important parts," he replied, trying to end this particular conversation.

Luke smiled and shook his head. "It's not enough; I really want to know everything about you."

Reid sighed, "Okay, ask me anything, but I'm warning you, I've had a pretty boring life."

Luke laughed. "Boring is good. So tell me how you came out."

Just then the waiter delivered their food.

"This looks delicious," Reid noted before he began to shovel the food into his mouth.

"Quit stalling," Luke urged with a smile as he too began to eat.

"Well, I don't really have a big dramatic coming out story," Reid began while chewing a mouthful of steak.

Luke looked sceptical but patiently waited for Reid to continue.

"I told you that I figured out that I was gay when I was nine and it really wasn't a big deal for me. I knew what I was and I just accepted it."

"Well did you tell your parents when you were nine?"

"No, I didn't think that it was any of their business. I told my dad when I was eleven and he gave me the sex talk."

"What did he say? Was he fine with it?" Luke wanted to know.

"He just smiled at me and told me it was a phase and that I shouldn't worry because I would grow out of it."

"I'm sorry Reid that must have been awful for you. Did you try to tell him that it wasn't a phase?"

"Not really, I could tell by his tone and the look on his face that his mind was made up and I really didn't want to have a big fight about it."

"What about your mom? Was she more accepting?"

"Not really," he shrugged. "I had a good friend in high school named Lisa and my mom kept telling me what a great girl she was. I knew that she wanted me to tell her that we were dating, but I didn't want to lie to her. Lisa started going out with a boy named Tom right before senior prom and so, naturally she went with him. My mom was devastated that I wasn't going with her and she assumed that I was too. So I told her that if I had gone with Lisa it would have been as friends because that's what we were. Naturally she asked me if I liked someone else, and I told her that I liked a boy named Tim, and she just said that maybe Lisa would break up with Tom and then we could go together. She has never asked me about dating again."

"Wow, I'm really sorry to hear that Reid. So I guess you haven't told them about me then."

"No I haven't," he replied with just a touch of bitterness. "To tell you the truth they think that I'm dating Katie."

"What?"

"Katie answered my cell phone once when my mom called and before I was able to get to the phone Katie announced that she was my roommate. I tried to tell my mom that we were just that, but she chose not to believe me," Reid sighed.

"I'm sorry Reid that must be very difficult for you."

Reid shook his head. "I never really felt very close to my parents. I mean, I knew that they loved me, but I also knew that I wasn't really what they had expected. I'm not really very much like them and I'm not sure that they ever understood me. Can we please change the subject now?"

Luke leaned over and kissed him lovingly on the lips.

"Sure, what would you like to talk about?" Luke asked.

"Dessert," Reid replied.

"You're still hungry? What am I saying; of course you're still hungry. What do you feel like having? Would you like something fruity or something chocolaty?"

"I think that I would like something chocolaty, maybe with some raspberry sauce because I love chocolate and raspberries."

"Oooh they have just the thing for you. They have a dark chocolate mousse drizzled with raspberry coulis and served with whipped cream."

"Yum, I think that's the one for me. What are you going to have?"

"Nothing, I'm full." _Because I 'm a normal person with a normal appetite and a regular metabolism._

The waiter brought over the mousse for Reid with two spoons as well as coffee for both of them.

"I see that they brought you a spoon," Reid commented. "I hope that you're not getting any ideas about me sharing with you," Reid teased.

Luke just smirked at Reid. "I think that I'll get you to share with me in a way that we will both enjoy," he replied with a naughty smile.

Reid swallowed hard._ Oh my God, Lily's in Europe and that means that Luke has the house to himself. I wonder/hope that he's going to invite me over. I had better signal for the bill._

Just as Reid was looking around for the waiter he managed to lock eyes with a pair of angry blue ones. _Noah bloody Mayer. Why is Noah here? Oh and he's not alone he's with Richard. Richard doesn't look happy, big surprise! Oh my God why are they standing up? Why are they walking over here? No, no, no! I need that bloody waiter because I want to take Luke and get out of here now. Too late!_

Reid sighed.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked surprised by Reid's sigh. "Don't you like your dessert?"

"It's No…," Reid started.

"Hi Luke," Noah began with forced jocularity.

Luke's head sprung forward shocked by the intrusion.

"Uh… hi Noah, Richard are you two having dinner here, too?" Luke asked politely. _Oh my God, I want to go. Where is the waiter? The last thing that I want to do is visit with Noah and Richard._

'Yes, we're here on a date," Noah answered smugly. _Look how uncomfortable he looks, he totally wants me back. I knew that once he saw me with Richard he would realize what he was missing._

"Oh that's nice. Well we'd love to stay and chat but Reid has an early morning tomorrow so we have got to get going."

"Oh well maybe the four of us can go out together some time," Noah suggested lamely. _He must really be upset by seeing me with Richard. Of course the next time Luke and I go out for dinner it will just be the two of us._

"Yeah, sometime," Luke responded vaguely. He quickly threw enough bills on the table to cover dinner and a tip. "Are you ready to go, Reid?"

"Yup, goodnight Mr. Mayer, Richard," Reid replied as he took Luke's hand and followed him out of the restaurant.

Noah and Richard walked back to their table.

"Noah, why did you ask me to have dinner with you?" Richard asked feeling used.

"I like you, Richard. You know that," Noah replied, smiling at the other man.

"When you asked me out, I specifically asked you if you were over Luke and you said that you were."

"I am, Richard."

"Well if you are so over him, then explain to me why you have spent the whole night staring at him and Reid."

"I wasn't staring at them the whole night," Noah answered defensively.

Richard just stared at him in disbelief.

"Okay, okay I was staring, but not for the reasons that you think. They were all over each other, kissing at the table. I think that Luke might have been touching Reid under the table," he finished with a tinge of disgust evident in his voice.

"Why do you care that they were kissing if you are over Luke?" Richard asked pointedly.

"I just don't like PDA. Luke and I never did that. Occasionally we would hold hands but that's about it. Certain things should remain behind closed doors."

"Uh huh and was that your decision or Luke's?"

"Neither, we just always agreed on those sorts of things."

"Well then, he seems to have changed his mind."

"Or had it changed for him," Noah said with an edge to his voice.

"Whatever, I'm glad that you're over him, because I can tell you he's certainly over you," Richard added flatly.

"What do you mean? He totally wants me back," Noah blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Dude, you're delusional. First of all Dr. Oliver is smokin' hot and second of all did you see the way they were looking at each other? I hope that someone looks at me the way those two were looking at each other. I'm telling you for your own sake, you've lost Luke. He's moved on and you should too."

"You don't know what you're talking about. Didn't you see how uncomfortable he was when he saw us together? He's jealous. That's why he left so quickly," Noah said confidently. _Poor Richard just doesn't understand the deep bond that Luke and I share._

"Dude I think he was uncomfortable because he didn't want to talk to us. I think they left because they wanted to be alone."

"You're wrong Richard, why wouldn't Luke want to talk to me? I thought that he was going to invite us to sit down with them. The only reasonable explanation for Luke's behaviour was that he's jealous," Noah said with a big smile on his face.

"Right, well I think that it's time for me to go. I'll see you around, Noah." _Thank God we brought separate cars so that I can be rid of him now._

"Don't you want to come back to my place for a nightcap?"

"Uh…no thanks I have to get up early tomorrow. See ya," Richard replied quickly leaving the restaurant.

Noah just sat at the table thinking about how he was going to get Luke back.

Reid was disappointed to see that Luke was driving him back to Katie's place.

_Shit seeing Noah must have really thrown Luke. I was sure that he was going to invite me back to his place. I wonder if I should say anything. Oh God, what would I say that wouldn't sound pathetic and needy? I am such a girl. Oh God what did Luke just say?_

"Sorry, uh what did you say?"

"I said that I'll wait for you while you throw some stuff in a bag, okay?"

Reid just blinked at Luke. "What are you talking about?"

_Oh my God, he doesn't want to come back to my place. Shit! What should I do now?_

"Uh…well I was hoping that you would stay over at my place tonight and I thought that you might want to pick up your toiletries and some clean clothes for tomorrow, but it's okay if you just want to stay here. I didn't mean to pressure you."

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke. _Thank God, Thank God, Thank God!_

"Of course I want to come over to your place, I'll be back in five minutes."

_Thank God, Thank God, Thank God!_


	13. Chapter 13

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Bob, Chris, and Noah

Summary: This is the story about the courtship of Reid and Luke.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating PG 14

A/N: Special thanks to Shadow NYC for giving me an idea for this chapter. Special thanks also to Lemondrop 34 for reminding me that Noah is always squinty.

The next morning Reid woke up disoriented and alone. _Where the hell am I? _Then he remembered the glorious sex he had had with Luke last night. _Where the hell is Luke? _He leaned over to feel Luke's side of the bed and it was cold. _Oh my God, where is Luke? What should I do? Should I get up and look for him? Where would I start? Oh my God! What if he went to see Noah? He wouldn't do that, would he?_ Reid thought back to last evening, he remembered Noah coming over and talking to Luke at the restaurant. Luke hadn't seemed entirely happy go see him and, in fact, had quickly found an escape route. Reid remembered the phone call that came while they were having sex. Luke had ignored the phone at that critical moment but had checked it after and found out that it was bloody Noah Mayer who had called. _Christ, why would Noah have called that late? Who does that? What if Luke has gone to see him this morning? What am I supposed to do? I don't even have my car here!_

Mercifully the bedroom door opened and Luke walked in carrying a tray with a huge mound of food on it. _Oh thank God, Luke is still here and he brought food! He is the best boyfriend on the planet!_

Just then he realized that Luke had actually cooked for him and he melted just a little bit more. He also realized that in his panic about where Luke had gone he hadn't even noted the delicious smells permeating the house. _I've got it bad for Luke. I didn't even think about food when I woke up. _

"Good morning, Reid," Luke said with a warm smile. "I was hoping that you would still be asleep when I brought this up."

Luke set the tray down on Reid and then crawled back into bed and curled up beside him.

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke with both passion and relief.

"Thank you! I can't believe that you can cook. This all looks and smells delicious," Reid stated with a touch of awe in his voice.

"Don't get too excited about my cooking," Luke warned. "Bacon and eggs is about all that I can manage."

Reid tucked into his breakfast, relishing the fact that Luke had cooked for him. Actually cooked for him! No one had ever done that for him before.

"Wow, this is amazing," Reid announced his mouth crammed full of food.

Luke laughed at Reid's enthusiasm, relieved that he had managed to pull this off.

"Oh my God, where on earth did you find these muffins? I have never tasted anything as good as these before."

"My Grandma Emma made them. She is an amazing cook. She's going to love you and you are going to love her food."

"Does this mean I am going to get invited to dinner when she's cooking?"

"Yes but don't get too excited, because they will be family dinners and you will have to endure the horrendous small talk that you hate."

Reid frowned. "Perhaps you could just bring me some leftovers for the two of us to share privately," Reid suggested, hopefully.

"No, you're going to have to come to dinner just like everyone else."

"Well, if I'm there, you had better be sitting right next to me to keep me sane."

"I will sit beside you and hold your hand to keep you safe," Luke said, before leaning in to kiss Reid lovingly on the lips.

Just then they heard a loud banging on the front door.

Luke jumped out of bed and put on some sweat pants so that he could answer the door.

"Who do you think it is?" Reid called after Luke.

"I have no idea, but I had better answer it before who ever it is breaks down the door."

Luke was shocked when he went to the door and saw that it was Noah.

"Noah, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?" Luke asked his voice full of concern.

Noah threw himself into Luke, grabbing on to the blonde like a drowning man grasps a life preserver.

Luke extricated himself as quickly as he could.

"Oh thank God you're alright! I'm so relieved."

"What are you talking about, of course I'm alright."

"Well I knew that you were upset about seeing me with Richard and so I called you last night to reassure you, and when you didn't answer I was beside myself with worry. Finally I couldn't take it anymore so I rushed over here to see that you were okay."

Luke just blinked at him, dumbfounded by Noah's words.

Noah tried to hug him again, but Luke stopped him.

Noah smiled. "It's okay Luke, I forgive you. I'll take you back. You know that we were meant to be."

Luke just gaped at him. "You forgive me? What exactly are you forgiving me for?"

"Everything, so stop worrying and kiss me, we both know that you want to."

Luke looked both amused and horrified at the proposition.

It was at that moment that Reid decided to let his presence be known to Noah and he cleared his throat.

Noah spun around at the intrusion and squinted at Reid.

"What the hell are you doing here? This is a private conversation."

Reid just smirked knowing that it was perfectly obvious what he was doing there. Hearing that it was Noah bloody Mayer at the door, Reid had felt it necessary to let the other man know what had been going on, so he had come downstairs in just his boxer shorts.

"I was just finishing up the fantastic breakfast Luke fixed for me this morning."

Noah squinted at Luke angrily, "You cooked him breakfast?"

"Yes," Luke answered clearly amused that that was what Noah was upset about.

"You never made me breakfast. Did you cook or was it just cold cereal and toast?"

Reid was delighted to hear that Luke had never made Noah breakfast.

"He cooked," Reid stated. "He made bacon and eggs and served them with the most delicious muffins that I have ever tasted. He also brought me coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice."

"Why are you still here? I told you this was a private conversation," Noah said, fixing Reid with his best glare. "Wait a minute, did you say that he brought you breakfast?"

"Yes."

"Where did he bring it to?" suddenly registering that Reid was just wearing boxer shorts and starting to understand the implications of that.

"Bed," Reid stated clearly. "He brought me breakfast in bed."

Noah spun around and glared at Luke. "Why would you do this to me? I mean how could you? Is he the reason that you didn't answer **my **call last night? Were you having **sex**? You haven't even known Reid that long. We waited two years so that it would be special, so that it would mean something."

Reid was shocked to hear this information. Two years? TWO YEARS?

"Noah this is none of your business. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to leave now," Luke told Noah firmly as he opened the door to usher him out.

"But…but…but…"Noah spluttered as he left the house. _How did things get so out of control? How can Luke have slept with that awful Dr. Oliver? I have got to save Luke. Even if he doesn't come back to me (which I'm sure that he will) I have to get him to understand how truly horrible Reid is. I need someone to help me formulate a plan._

As soon as Noah was gone Reid turned to Luke, "two years? Seriously, you guys waited for two years."

Luke nodded, feeling embarrassed.

Reid sensing that Luke was uncomfortable cupped his cheek with one hand and stared into Luke's beautiful brown eyes. "How on earth did he manage to resist you for two years? It took all of my considerable will power not to rip that towel off of you when we were in Texas."

"Really?" Luke asked starting to feel a little bit better.

"Yes really, I'm surprised you even have to ask," Reid reassured him. "Just to be clear, this means something. You mean everything to me, Luke."

Luke kissed Reid as passionately as he could, before taking Reid's hand and leading him back upstairs to his bedroom. Just as they reached the threshold, Luke turned to Reid, lovingly held his gaze and whispered "you mean everything to me too."

End Notes: Well this isn't exactly how I planned for this chapter to go. Noah wasn't even supposed to be in this one. Shadow NYC gave me the idea and this is where it took me. I know that the timeline is really slow and I hope that it's not too distracting for you.

This is how I imagine them together at the start of their relationship, having that insatiable need for each other all of the time. Finding everything else pushed aside. Anyway I hope that you like it. Thanks for taking this ride with me!


	14. Chapter 14

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing Reid and Luke

Other Characters: Katie, Bob and Chris

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating PG 14

A/N : This one is dedicated to Sleeper6 because it's her birthday! Happy Birthday BB I hope that you do something fun and extravagant! Have a great day! *Hugs*

Bob smiled as he looked at Reid and Luke who had managed to roll into his office at 10:15 looking not only tired but also deliriously happy. Bob was amused to see that the two men couldn't seem to keep either their hands or the eyes off each other. Both men had apologized for being late, but neither really looked very sorry.

Bob cleared his throat in order to try and get their attention.

Both men looked up, Luke looking sheepish and Reid looking decidedly smug.

"I suppose that you are both wondering why I asked to meet with you," Bob began.

Luke nodded eagerly, while Reid merely inclined his head.

"Well I have decided that I am no longer willing to sell the hospital to the Invicta Corporation. There was something about Mona Cross that just didn't sit well with me."

Reid was much more alert now that he knew that Invicta was out of the picture.

"So that means that we will have to come up with the money from somewhere else," Bob stated staring firmly at Luke.

"Ah yes, Mr. Deep Pockets himself, Richie Rich," Reid teased Luke.

Bob intervened. "Luke I want you to understand that I am not looking for money from you today, but I would like you to keep us in mind for the future. Also I would like to offer you the spot on the board that you recently gave up. Now that Invicta is out of the picture I see no conflict of interest."

"Wow, thanks Bob, I would love to come back to the board. Is that okay with you, Reid?"

"Yes, those board meetings wouldn't be the same without you," he responded waggling his eyebrows. Luke blushed in response and Bob smiled in amusement pretending that he hadn't noticed their private exchange.

"Now Reid there is something more that I would like to talk to you about, do you mind if Luke stays or would you rather have some privacy?"

"Luke can stay. It'll save me time explaining it all to him later. What's on your mind, Bob?"

"Even though I am not selling the hospital, I still want to retire and to do that I need a successor," Bob paused meaningfully.

"Are you thinking about hiring from within the hospital, because I think that Susan Stewart would make an excellent choice," Reid offered.

Bob smiled at Reid. "Yes, Susan would make an excellent choice and I have spoken to her about the position, but she turned me down flat. She enjoys her practice and isn't looking to add more headaches to her life. I was actually thinking that you would make an excellent chief of staff, Dr. Oliver."

Reid was stunned by this development. "Bob, I'm flattered, and of course I am interested in the job, but I fear that I lack, uh certain people skills."

Luke beamed at Reid and squeezed his hand. "That's why you have me. I have excellent people skills and I am willing to help you work on yours and support you wherever necessary, if you would like me to."

"That's one of the reason's that I wanted Luke back on the board. That way he can help you succeed in that position."

"Wow Bob, it looks like you have it all figured out."

"That's why I'm the current chief," he smiled. "So is that a yes? Can I give your name to the board?"

Reid looked at Luke who was smiling at him with such love and confidence that Reid felt that he truly would be able to handle this job.

"Yes," he finally agreed.

Bob stood up to shake their hands feeling relieved that Memorial would be left in such capable hands.

"I have one favour to ask of you both before you go," Bob said, his voice taking on a serious tone.

"Sure, Bob, what do you need?" Reid inquired.

"I would truly appreciate it if you kept this appointment confidential. I would like to tell the relevant parties myself."

Reid knew that Bob was talking about Chris and quickly nodded his agreement.

Luke agreed as well, although he was dying to tell everyone he knew, because he was so proud of Reid.

"Bob do you have a few minutes, I would like to discuss a case with you."

"Sure Reid, I have about twenty minutes right now, will that suffice?"

"Yes, that would be great. Luke how about we meet at Al's for lunch at say 1:30?" Reid asked hopefully.

"Sure that would be fantastic. I have to go to the foundation now, but I will see you at Al's later."

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke good-bye.

Once Luke had left Bob's office, Bob wanted to hear about the case.

"It's not really a case, what I want to talk to you about is Chris. He's not going to be happy that you have chosen me to be the next chief of staff."

"Don't worry about Christopher, he will be happy for you once I explain my reasons for installing you in that position," Bob replied confidently.

Reid was not so sure and began to lay out a list of concerns that he had regarding Chris.

Bob heard him out and promised to let Reid know if he saw any red flags when he spoke with Chris.

Reid was happy to see that Luke was already seated when he walked into Al's at 1:30. He wasn't quite so pleased to see that Katie was sitting at their table too. Reid really didn't like to share.

"Hey Luke," Reid said as he sat down and gently kissed Luke on the lips. "Katie," he added perhaps a touch colder than necessary.

Katie just laughed. "Gee it's nice to see you too, Reid."

"Have you ordered yet?" Reid asked Luke.

"No, I was waiting for you."

"Awe, you guys are so cute together," Katie sighed happily.

Reid frowned at her. "Take that back, I am most definitely not cute!"

Katie just laughed in response.

The waitress came over to take their orders.

"So have you decided what you are going to have?" Reid asked Luke.

"Yeah, I'm going to have the chilli and cornbread, what about you?"

"That sounds good, I'll have the same as you," Reid smiled at Luke. The waitress took their orders as well as Katie's who had settled on a garden salad.

The two men were so engrossed in each other that they didn't catch the self satisfied smile that was plastered all over Katie's face. Unfortunately, they also didn't see the approach of someone far less palatable.

"Hey Katie," Chris said as he strutted over to their table. "Mind in I join you?" he asked while already sitting down.

"Well I guess you've heard that my dad is planning on retiring," Chris began looking at all three of them.. "So he is going to name someone as the next chief of staff and I guess it's pretty obvious who that's going to be," Chris announced, whilst preening like a peacock.

Luke and Reid had begun to listen when Chris had mentioned his dad's upcoming retirement.

Luke smiled with pride when he thought about Reid becoming the next chief.

"Who do you think is going to get the top job?" Katie inquired.

"Me," Chris replied happy that Katie had asked.

"You," Luke spluttered in disbelief, before he could stop himself.

"Of course it will be me. Who else is there?" he asked glaring at Reid.

Luke started to respond but Reid put his hand on Luke's thigh and lightly squeezed to calm the younger man down.

"I don't know, I was thinking that Susan Stewart might get the job," Luke finished lamely.

"Susan's a drunk, she couldn't handle the job," he answered derisively. "I'm a Hughes so that makes me the obvious choice."

"Good to know, Doogie," Reid offered.

"You're going to have to stop calling me that once I'm your boss, you know," Chris said wanting to wipe the smug look off of Reid's arrogant face. _I'm going to fire him once I become the chief. I don't care how great everyone thinks he is, I know that he is a world class jerk and a cheat. I can't wait until I can get rid of him._

"We'll see," was all Reid bothered to add.

Just then the food arrived.

"So Katie, how would you like to go out to dinner with the future chief of staff tonight?" Chris inquired arrogantly.

"Well Chris that sure is a tempting offer but unfortunately I already have plans," she replied.

"I'm sure you can change your plans to come out with me," Chris insisted.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't."

Reid was amused by this exchange, primarily because he was fairly certain that Katie didn't have any plans.

"What exactly are your plans?" Chris asked. _What on earth could possibly be better than going out for dinner with me?_

Katie panicked. "Well, um I …" she looked beseechingly at Reid, begging him to bail her out of this jam.

"She has plans with us this evening. We're all going to a movie together, I'd invite you to join us but we only have the three tickets plus Jacob's and tonight's show is sold out, Sorry," Luke explained.

Reid just stared at Luke, impressed and a little taken aback at his ability to make up such a credible lie on the spot.

"Well that's an easy fix then. You two can take Jacob to the movie while Katie and I have a romantic dinner. Problem solved," Chris beamed like he had just ended world hunger.

"Forget about it Doogie. There's no way that Luke and I are going to take the germ monster by ourselves. You'll have to find someone else to celebrate with," Reid said firmly.

"Are you sure, Katie?"

"Yes Chris. I'm sorry but I just can't cancel on my friends."

"Okay, well we'll do something another night then for sure," he assured her as he stood up to leave. "I have to go and have an important meeting with my dad," he added, looking pointedly at Reid before he made his exit.

"Wow thanks for jumping in like that Luke. My mind was a total blank," Katie stated.

"No problem Katie. I got the impression that you would rather get a root canal without anaesthesia than have dinner with Chris," Luke responded with a smile.

"Pretty much," she agreed.

"So do you and Jacob want to go to a movie with us, tonight?" Luke asked sincerely.

Reid stared at Luke. _Why did he just ask Katie to go to the movies with us? I didn't know that we were even going to the movies tonight. Although, I have to admit that I kind of like the idea of sitting in a darkened movie theatre with Luke._

"That's sweet Luke, but no, I just want to go home and spend the night in with Jacob." _I also know that Reid would kill me in my sleep if I tagged along._

"Well Reid do you want to go to a movie with me tonight?"

"Sure Luke, that sounds great."

"What do you want to see?"

"I don't care, why don't you choose."

Katie just beamed at the two men sitting across from her. She was so happy for both of them.

"Well I'd better get back to the station. Thanks for inviting me to lunch, Luke," Katie said quickly getting her wallet out to pay.

"It's on me, Katie. It was nice catching up with you."

"Thanks Luke, see you later!"

"See you," the boys echoed.

"So how do you think Chris is going to take the news from Bob?" Luke asked once the two of them were alone.

Reid sighed, "I really don't know. We'll just have to wait and see."

_We, Reid said we. Woo hoo!_

"Well I'd better get back to work, what about you?" Reid asked Luke.

"Yeah, I had better get back to work too. I'll walk you out."

The two men left and walked over to Reid's car.

"So do you want to grab dinner as well as a movie?" Reid asked hopefully.

Luke beamed and leaned in and kissed Reid. "Yes," he whispered against the other man's mouth.

"I'll pick you up around 6:30, is that okay?"

"Perfect."

They kissed once more and then reluctantly parted company.

Meanwhile back at Memorial…

"Christopher, it's great to see you son, come on in," Bob greeted his son.

"Thanks Dad it's good to see you too."

"Christopher I have some great news for the hospital and I wanted to share it with you first," he paused for effect. "As you know I am planning to retire at the end of next year and to do that I needed to find my replacement."

Chris smiled at this, knowing what was surely coming next.

"Luckily I have found someone who I know will do a spectacular job."

"Well I'm sure that no one could handle this job as well as you have, but I will do my best to make you proud," Chris replied, trying to be humble.

"I beg your pardon? Christopher, you're not ready for this job. I was talking about Reid Oliver; he is the doctor that I plan to name as my successor."

"You can't be serious, Dad. Reid would ruin this hospital. He has zero people skills. Not to mention the fact that I am sure that he cheated on the fellowship that he won back in med school."

Bob shook his head feeling disappointed in his son. _Reid had been correct when he warned me about Chris's reaction to the news. I wonder what else he was right about._

"Chris, Reid is a very well respected neurosurgeon. I understand that you may not like him personally, but professionally his credentials speak for themselves. You are just not on the same level as he is. He has published many more articles than you have and his specialty of neurosurgery is more prestigious than paediatrics. I know that doesn't seem fair but that's the reality of the situation."

"What about the fellowship, Dad? Do you really want someone dishonest running your hospital?" Chris queried.

Bob sighed heavily and Chris realized he had made a tactical error.

"Son, it simply isn't possible to cheat on that kind of fellowship. Reid mentioned that you had accused him of cheating and he advised me to investigate so that I could have confidence in him. I did as he suggested and found that there had been a thorough investigation at the time when the award was handed out and that Reid had been cleared of all wrong doing."

_Reid has really got you fooled, Dad. I think that maybe you are losing your mind to trust someone like him._

"Alright, Dad I'm glad that you had him vetted. I will support you in your decision, but I'm not sure that the board will be as accepting as I am."

Bob issued a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that you are on my side," he stated sincerely. _I will still talk to the board members as Reid suggested. I don't want any unpleasant surprises, especially from my son._

Chris smiled back at his father. "Me too," he concurred. _It's too bad that Dad has lost the plot. There's no way that I am going to let Oliver steal this from me too. The fellowship was one thing, but this is Memorial. Being chief of staff is practically my birthright. Bloody Reid Oliver, first I will destroy his relationship with Luke and then I will dismantle his career._

End notes; Okay I know that on the show the only reason that Chris wanted the job was because his father recommended Reid for it. Personally I thought that was a dumb and selfish reason to go after such an important job. So I have written it as though Chris really does want the job. I seem to remember that he did want it some years back when he was played by a different actor (Dylan Bruce?), but I could be wrong.

Secondly I remember reading somewhere that Chris and Katie had slept together in the past, which could very well be true. Again for this story that never happened. Also I have deliberately kept those two apart, because I never liked them as a couple.


	15. Chapter 15

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing Luke and Reid

Other Characters Chris, Bob's secretary Lynne, Gretchen

Summary: This is the courtship of Luke and Reid. This is AU.

Rating NC 17

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All of the mistakes are mine.

The movie had been great date, although neither Reid nor Luke would have been able to give a synopsis of the plot even under penalty of death. They had sat in the back of the movie theatre and made out like teenagers. By the time the movie ended they were both so turned on that Reid suggested a quick trip to the bathroom. Unfortunately the manager thought this might be their plan and sternly asked them to leave. Reid at least had the popcorn container to hide his enormous erection; Luke had nothing and just averted his eyes and tried not to blush too much. He failed.

By the time the pair reached Reid's car, the combination of the cold air and humiliation had managed to calm their ardour and they were able to make it home.

"God that was embarrassing," Luke remarked when they were finally in the privacy of his home.

Reid just laughed. "Come on Luke it wasn't that bad. I'm sure we're not the first couple to be asked to leave. Although, I have to admit that I would have preferred that he asked us to leave after we had had bathroom sex. That would have been extremely hot."

"Oh my God, do you think he knew that we were going to do that?" Luke asked feeling himself blush.

Reid shrugged, "probably, we weren't exactly being discreet."

"Shit, you don't think that Lloyd's going to tell my dad, do you?"

Reid looked confused. "Who the hell is Lloyd, and why would he tell your dad?"

Luke sighed patiently, "Lloyd is the manager that asked us to leave, he and my dad went to high school together."

Reid just gaped at Luke. "Bloody small towns," he muttered to himself.

Reid could tell that Luke was pretty freaked out about this so he tried to calm the younger man down. "I'm sure that he won't say anything to Holden about this. He probably sees this kind of thing all the time, which is why he knew what was on our minds. He's probably forgotten all about it."

"Do you really think so?" Luke asked with such hope in his voice that it made Reid smile.

"Yes," he replied comfortingly

Luke smiled lovingly at Reid. "Come on, let's go to bed." He reached out and grabbed Reid's hand and led him upstairs.

The next morning the boys woke up tangled in each others arms. _God I love waking up next to him. I can't believe I always thought it would be horrible to share a bed. I love how he snuggles up to me in his sleep. It is just so so comforting to have Luke there touching me._ Reid smiled to himself. _Oh God, what if I'm crowding Luke, what if he finds it too squishy having me in his bed, what if he wishes I weren't here. Breathe, Reid, just breathe_. Reid looked over at Luke to gauge the other man's reaction.

"Good morning Reid," Luke said and leaned over and kissed him.

"Morning," Reid breathed out, melting into Luke's kiss.

"Do you have to go into the hospital right away or do you have time to food around?"

"I always have time to fool around," Reid stated emphatically.

After morning sex, followed by shower sex, Reid and Luke finally got dressed and ready to face the day.

"I don't have time to have a proper breakfast with you, but Emma dropped off some more muffins yesterday and I set the coffee maker and I bought you a mug so you can take some with you," Luke said by way of an apology.

"Wow, Luke you are amazing! I don't have time for breakfast with you either. Thanks for organizing food and coffee for me. I can't believe you bought me a mug!" Reid leaned over and kissed Luke warmly, shoving his tongue inside Luke's mouth because he simply couldn't resist.

Luke happily kissed Reid back. "Everything is just so easy with you. I can't believe how great you are," Luke beamed at Reid.

Reid spent the next few days in a glorious haze. The nurses at the hospital all noticed how happy he was and this made their jobs a thousand times easier. Secretly Gretchen wanted to send Luke a bouquet of flowers to thank him, but felt that Reid would flip out and his good moods would be a thing of the past.

Reid was still finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than Luke, but he was able to force himself to at least get some work done.

Luke for his part was in much the same boat as Reid. He tried to focus on work and could but only for very short periods of time. Thoughts of Reid consumed him.

They spent every night together in Luke's bed. They simply couldn't get enough of each other.

The day after Bob had dropped the bombshell that Reid was going to be the new chief of staff Chris started formulating a plan to thwart Reid. He knew that he was going to have to be very careful if he was going to succeed.

He needed an ally who had insider information and so he decided to enlist his father's secretary Lynne. Lynne was a plain, quiet, and competent woman, who just happened to be single. _I'll seduce her so that I can pump her for information without her becoming suspicious. She looks like she hasn't been laid for a long time, so I'm sure that she'll be begging me for it. _

Knowing that his dad usually went for lunch at this time, Chris went upstairs to see Lynne.

"Hi Lynne, is my dad around?" Chris inquired innocently.

"No, I'm sorry, you just missed him," she replied with a smile. _Wow, I love those dimples. I mean he's no Reid Oliver, but he's not half bad._

"Oh, that's too bad. He asked me to come by to pick up a list of the current board members along with their personal information," he paused hoping that she would take the hint. "Oh well I guess that I'll have to come back later."

"Oh, I have access to that information, would you like me to print out a copy for you now."

"That would be great," Chris replied with his most charming smile.

"No problem," she said retrieving the file and hitting the print button.

Five minutes later Chris was walking away with all the necessary information. _I didn't even have to sleep with her. Plus she asked me not to tell my dad that I had gotten the list from her, so I know that she won't spill the beans on me. Life was going to be perfect, just like I deserve.  
_

Saturday was the first day that Reid and Luke had both had off. Luke was so excited to spend an entire day with Reid that he had planned the whole thing out.

Luke woke up at 7:00, just like a kid on Christmas morning. He watched Reid sleep for a while awestruck by the fact that this beautiful, brilliant and talented man was lying in his bed. _Whatever I have done to deserve the gift that is Reid I would gladly do again a hundred times over._

Finally, he just couldn't wait for Reid to wake up one minute longer. So he decided to try something that he knew they would both enjoy.

Luke gently pulled the covers off of Reid; fortunately Reid was one of those people who radiated heat while they slept, so Luke wasn't too worried about him getting cold.

Once the covers were off, Luke took a moment to stare at Reid's beauty. He admired the definition in his abs, the chest that was so comforting to lean against. He looked at Reid's arms that were strong without being bulky. He gazed at Reid's hands and the long tapered fingers that were so very, very skilled. Luke let his eyes roam over to Reid's slim hips that seemed to be jutting towards him even in slumber. Finally Luke let his eyes feast on Reid's glorious penis. Reid was hard, but not yet leaking. Luke licked his luscious red lips and decided to see if he could change that.

Luke gently licked at the tip of Reid's penis. He carefully tongued Reid's slit and was immediately rewarded with just the tiniest taste that was Reid. Luke smiled and continued his ministrations. He slowly swirled his tongue down the length of Reid's cock causing the other man to moan. Luke stopped for a moment to see whether or not Reid had woken up, but he still seemed to be asleep. Luke turned back to his task and ran his tongue back up Reid's dick until he was back at the head. He carefully ran his tongue along the rim and gently nibbled at it every so often. When he had finished there he once again began to tongue Reid's slit, which was now openly weeping pre come. Luke greedily lapped it up.

He pulled his mouth away from Reid's penis to get one more look at it before he swallowed it whole. _God I love the way his penis fills my mouth. I love the weight of it and the taste of Reid is better than anything else in the world._

He continued to swirl his tongue over the length of Reid's penis alternating with swallowing around Reid's head. He could hear Reid moaning with pleasure, deep in his throat, but he wasn't sure if the other man was truly awake or not. He couldn't pull himself away to look.

Luke decided to add one of his fingers into the mix. He put it alongside Reid's cock into his mouth to get it nice and coated with saliva. Meanwhile his other hand was gently massaging Reid's balls in just the way he knew Reid liked it best. Reid's moaning intensified, and Luke smiled. Deciding that his finger was wet enough, he removed it from his mouth and put it in Reid's tight hole.

Reid gasped at the sensation, finally fully awake. _Oh my God if this is a dream please don't let me wake up. _

"Llluuuuukkkkke," he screamed moments later coating Luke's throat with his seed.

Luke swallowed every last drop.

Luke curled up against Reid and waited for the other man's breathing to return to normal.

:"Good morning," Luke said with a smile in his voice as he leaned over to kiss Reid.

"I love you, Luke." _God that seems so inadequate for the amount of emotion that I have swirling around inside of me, but I can't think of anything else to say! I'm not sure that I deserve him, but God help me I am not giving him up!_

"I love you too," Luke beamed at Reid and made his heart flutter just a little bit more. _Who the hell am I? Since when does my heart flutter?_

"Sorry that I didn't let you sleep more, but I couldn't help myself," Luke shrugged, blushing a bright shade of pink.

"Luke, never ever apologize for giving me a blow job, and for the record, you can wake me up like that any time the mood strikes you. ANYTIME!"

"Thanks."

Reid shook his head incredulously.

"My turn," Reid said with a wicked grin.

"Nope, we need to get in the shower; Grandma Emma's waiting for us with a full breakfast."

"You've arranged for your Grandma Emma, the baker of the best muffins in the world to make breakfast for us?"

"Yes, so we have to get to the farm."

"Luke Snyder, you are the best boyfriend on the planet," Reid smiled as the two headed for the bathroom.

The boys were a little late getting to the farm as the shower had taken decidedly longer than was strictly necessary to get clean. Reid was determined to reward Luke for being the best boyfriend ever and well it took a while for Luke to be fully rewarded.

Reid was a little worried about meeting Emma, but he was also desperate to eat more of her cooking. Luke had promised that her muffins were only a small sampling of her repertoire. As soon as the two walked into the house, Reid's nose was assaulted by a wide variety of mouth watering smells. _Luke, amazing sex, Luke, fantastic food, Luke. I think that I might pass out from the sheer joy of this day. Who the hell am I again?_

"Grandma, this is Reid," Reid barely conscious, managed to snap out of his revelry to respond to the introduction. It was a good thing too as Emma immediately enveloped Reid in a warm hug._ Why is she hugging me? Hug back, hug back._ Reid managed to awkwardly put one arm around Emma's back.

"It's so nice to meet the man who has put such a big smile on Luke's face. Welcome to my home," Emma said as she finally released him from the hug.

"It's nice to meet the woman who bakes such amazing muffins."

Emma blushed at his praise.

"Sit down, sit down, I hope you're hungry, I've made a lot of food and I don't want to have a ton of left over's"

Luke laughed and Reid grinned at the thought of being invited to eat a lot of yummy food.

Emma piled food onto plates and put them before each of the boys before serving herself.

"Wow, now this is a breakfast," Reid exclaimed as he began to devour his plate of food.

Emma was delighted at the enjoyment she saw on Reid's face as he inhaled her food.

"Would you like some more, Reid?" Emma asked noting that she and Luke still had plenty of their first helpings.

"Yes please. Don't get up, I can serve myself, if that's okay."

"Thank you dear that would be lovely."

Reid got up and served himself a mountain of food. He didn't even notice the amused look that passed between the other two.

As they ate their breakfast the three enjoyed pleasant conversation. Normally, Reid would have been bored out of his mind, but the quantity and quality of the food was enough to hold his attention.

After breakfast the two men said good-bye to Emma, both thanking her profusely for the wonderful food.

"Reid you are welcome here anytime. By the way I am open to requests. So if there is something special you would like me to make for you please just let me know."

Reid just gaped at her. He now knew where Luke got his generosity from.

"Thank you," he said and leaned over and kissed Emma on the cheek, surprising all three of them in the process.

"Thank-you for everything Grandma," Luke said leaning down to hug her.

"I like this one, he's a keeper," Emma whispered in his ear as she hugged him back.

Luke just smiled at her, pleased by her acceptance.

The boys spent the rest of the day wandering through a local farmers market, followed by a long leisurely lunch and then a hike on one of Luke's favourite trails.

It was a lovely day filled with laughter and love.

Reid was pleased to hear that they were headed back to Luke's after their hike. He had really enjoyed the day, but what he wanted most now was some alone time with Luke.

He wondered briefly what they were going to have for dinner, but decided that they could just order in a pizza. He was feeling peckish as they hadn't had any real snacks while they were hiking.

As Reid and Luke walked into the house, once again Reid's nose was assaulted by mouth watering smells.

"What have you done?" Reid asked his voice tinged with awe.

Luke shrugged and lit the candles that were waiting with the food on the dining room table. "I thought that you might enjoy a nice, quiet dinner with me, so I had the chef at the Lakeview prepare food for us. I ordered you the peppercorn steak because it travels more easily than the prime rib. I hope that you're okay with that."

"Luke, this is amazing, no one has ever gone to this much trouble for me, ever! I would have been happy with cold pizza, but this is so much better."

Reid walked over to where Luke was standing and wrapped his arms around him, holding him tightly from behind. "You are the most incredible man on the planet, you own me," he whispered in Luke's ear. Luke turned his head so that he could capture Reid's lips in a sweet, but passionate kiss.

The two ate the delicious food in companionable silence; both of them overcome by the emotions that they were feeling toward the other. While they were eating they sat close to each other and continued to touch and steal glances.

When dinner was over, the two cleaned up the dishes and put away the few bits of food that Reid was too full to inhale.

After the table was cleared and the dishes were done the pair retired to the sofa to relax and watch a little bit of TV.

Watching TV soon turned into making out which in turn led them upstairs. That night they made love with gentleness and an awe that they hadn't experienced before, it was a truly beautiful experience, for both.

As they lay in bed spooning, Luke tilted his head back and kissed Reid one last time on the lips. "I love you, Reid," he whispered. "I'm really going to miss this," and promptly fell asleep.


	16. Chapter 16

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Katie

Summary: This is the story of the courtship of Luke and Reid.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating: PG 14

Warnings: Strong language.

As they lay in bed spooning, Luke tilted his head back and kissed Reid one last time on the lips. "I love you, Reid," he whispered. "I'm really going to miss this," and promptly fell asleep.

"I love you too," Reid murmured as he too began to succumb to sleep. Suddenly his eyes flew open. _Hold the phone, what did he mean when he said that he was really going to miss this? What the fuck does that even mean? Why would he miss this? Did he just dump me? Holy shit! What did he mean?_

Reid turned to Luke who was sleeping peacefully. _Christ he even has a smile on his face while he's sleeping. How can he possibly sleep when I am having a major freak out? It seems kind of inconsiderate of him. Okay, breathe Reid, just breathe. _

_Okay, I need a plan. Maybe I should just wake him up and ask him what he meant. What if he did break up with me? Do I really want to wake him up so that he can do it again? I don't think that I can take that. _

Reid lay in bed tossing and turning for about an hour. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and decided to wake Luke up.

"Luke," Reid whispered. There was no response. "Luke," he tried again a little bit louder this time. Luke kept sleeping. Reid shook the younger man a little, but Luke just kept sleeping.

_Fuck, who just sleeps like that? _

Reid lay back down and tried to fall asleep. He failed.

_Shit what should I do? Clearly I am not going to fall asleep, and Luke's not going to wake up. Oh God, I can't take it._

Reid finally got out of bed and got dressed. He wasn't particularly quiet about it as he was kind of hoping that Luke would wake up and beg him to stay. Luke continued to sleep, blissfully unaware of the drama that was playing out around him.

Reid, finally dressed, pulled out his wallet and removed a business card from it. He retrieved a pen from Luke's desk and wrote two simple words on the back of his card.

He placed the card on his pillow and then walked around to the other side of the bed. With tears in his eyes he leaned over and kissed Luke's mouth. Luke responded, but didn't wake up.

Reid turned and slowly walked out the door.

By the time that Reid was in his car the tears were streaming down his face. He tried to wipe them away, but they kept falling. _Fuck, I'm crying. I __**never **__cry. What the hell am I going to do without him? I can't believe that it's over. What did I do wrong? I thought that we had a perfect day yesterday. How could I have misjudged the situation so completely?_

As Reid pulled up to the apartment he saw that there were lights on inside. He didn't know whether to hope that Katie was up or not; He desperately wanted advice, but he really didn't want to talk about the fiasco that had become his life.

He sighed heavily as he exited his car. He wiped away his tears in an effort to not look as pathetic as he felt.

He opened the door and found Katie sitting on the couch feeding Jacob. The sight made him smile despite himself.

"Hello stranger," Katie joked before she saw how distraught Reid looked.

"Oh my God Reid, what happened?"

"I think that Luke just dumped me."

Katie stared at Reid for a moment. "What do you mean 'you think Luke dumped you'?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Katie. I'm exhausted. I just want to go to bed."

"Reid, you can't honestly think that you're going to be able to sleep. Come on, spill your guts, it might even make you feel better." _He looks awful. I wonder what happened, they both looked so happy when we had lunch at Al's. I hope that I can help him fix this._

Reid sat down heavily on the couch beside Katie and Jacob.

"I don't really know what happened. I thought that we had a great day yesterday. I know I did. I think that it was the best day of my life. Luke is just so amazing. He arranged for us to have breakfast at the farm. He had his Grandma Emma make us an enormous amount of food. It was incredible. His grandma was so warm and the food was so delicious and Luke was there with me the whole time. Oh God I sound pathetic. That must be why he dumped me." The tears began to flow again.

Katie reached out and squeezed his hand. "Did you insult Emma? Did Luke seem angry with anything that you did?"

"No, I don't think so. Oh God, I just don't know."

"Okay, calm down. What else did you do?"

"Well after breakfast, we wandered around the farmer's market. Luke was so cute pointing out all of the different kinds of produce. It was as though he didn't think that I would recognize fruits and vegetables," Reid managed to smile at the memory.

"Well Reid he has seen you eat, and vegetables are not usually on your menu," Katie lightly teased, relieved to see him crack a smile.

"After the farmer's market he took me to this amazing restaurant, where we just sat and ate for a couple of hours. Katie, I can't tell you how much I like just sitting with Luke, we don't have to be doing anything for me to feel safe and whole with him. Oh my God, is that why he broke up with me, am I too needy?"

"Has he ever complained that you are too clingy? Has he asked you to give him space?" Katie asked.

"No, I always thought that he enjoyed spending time with me too. I had no idea that he was unhappy."

"Well Reid, you aren't the most sensitive guy, but I know that whenever I saw the pair of you together, he seemed just as into you as you are into him."

"Do you really think so?"

The naked need in Reid's voice broke Katie's heart. "Yes, I really think so. Now tell me what else happened yesterday."

"After lunch we went for a hike. Luke told me that he wanted to share one his favourite trails with me."

"Did you make fun of it?" Katie asked trying to figure out where Reid had screwed up.

"No," Reid responded horrified. "It was a beautiful trail. We hiked for a couple of hours and it felt great to be outdoors, just the two of us. I honestly had a fantastic time. I'm not big on hiking, but being with Luke just makes everything fun." _Seriously, I am a twelve year old girl. UGH!_

_Wow he's really got it bad for Luke. I wonder what went wrong._

"Okay, so what happened after the hike?"

"We went back to Luke's and it was perfect. He had arranged for the chef at the Lakeview to cater a romantic dinner for us. The food was incredible, but I would have been just as happy eating cold pizza. The fact that Luke went to so much trouble, for me, still amazes me. Why would he do that if he was just going to dump me? Why?"

"I don't know, Reid. Did he dump you during dinner?" Katie wondered.

"No, after dinner we watched TV and then we went upstairs to bed."

Katie noticed that Reid had what could only be described as a dreamy expression on his face as he obviously remembered the events of the evening before.

"So how exactly did he dump you?" Katie asked feeling perplexed.

"Well we were lying in bed just drifting off to sleep, when he leaned over and kissed me, said he loved me and then he said he was really going to miss this."

"What did that mean? What was he going to miss?"

"Us, I'm guessing. That's the only thing that makes sense."

"Well what did he say when you asked him?"

"Nothing, he fell asleep, and I couldn't get him to wake up."

"What do you mean you couldn't wake him up?"

"I swear Katie, Luke sleeps like the dead. I pushed him, said his name, I even kissed him goodbye. Nothing."

"Well, you have to talk to him, Reid. You have to find out for sure that he was ending things with you. I've never had someone say they love me, dump me and immediately go to sleep. It's just weird."

Reid just shrugged. "Do you really think that I might be over reacting?" Reid said clinging to hope.

"Yes. You've been in relationships before, have you ever had one end like this before?"

Reid shifted uncomfortably on the couch.

"What is it Reid? Has something like this happened to you in the past?"

"Well I've never been in a relationship like this before," Reid admitted.

"So when you said that you had been in relationships before you meant that you had had regular sex with guys before?"

"Basically, yes."

"Oh my God, Reid how have you managed to survive without me? Okay so how long was your longest 'relationship'?"

"Uh, three months I think."

"So how did that end?" _Geez it's like pulling teeth to get any information out of him._

"He leaned over in bed and told me he loved me, I said that I didn't love him and he left," Reid responded with a shrug.

Katie glared at him.

"What? Do you think that I should have lied to him and told him that I felt the same way when I knew that I didn't? He was good in bed and very convenient; I thought that he felt the same way about me until he confessed his feelings."

"Oh Reid, the poor guy, you broke his heart and you didn't even realize what you were doing and now you're worried that Luke has done the same thing to you," Katie stated, fully understanding his distress. "Luckily for you, Luke isn't like you. I'm sure that he loves you. He wouldn't have said it to you if he didn't feel it. Have you told him that you love him?"

"Yes," Reid answered simply.

"Okay, then my best guess is that you are overreacting. You need to talk to Luke and straighten this out. You two have been inseparable for the last little while. I suggest that you accidentally on purpose, bump into him. You need to talk to him in person."

Reid thought for a moment. "I know that he often has coffee at Java at 10:00 because he often brings me a latte shortly after that."

"Okay, there's your answer, try to meet up with him at Java tomorrow morning. Now go to bed, you look awful!"

"Thanks Katie," he said, standing up and heading to his room. When he reached the door, he turned around to pose one last question. "Do you really think that I stand a chance with him?"

"Yes," Katie replied firmly. "I really do. You just need to talk to him."


	17. Chapter 17

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Noah, Chris, Katie, and Gretchen

Summary: This is the courtship of Reid and Luke.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating: PG 14

Warning: Strong language.

Luke woke up the next morning feeling happy and refreshed. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so content. He reached over to touch Reid, needing to feel that connection and was sorely disappointed to find that he was alone. He noted that the sheets were cool, indicating that Reid had left awhile ago.

_Reid must have had an emergency in the night. I wish that he had woken me up to tell me._

Luke hugged Reid's pillow to his chest, inhaling Reid's unique sent. Luke sighed; _it just isn't as good as the real thing. Well I'd better get going. I have to get to the foundation before I pick up my mom from the airport. I'm really going to miss this, having the house to myself and having Reid here all the time. _Luke sighed again and got out of bed. As he stood up he felt something flutter over his body and onto the floor. It was one of Reid's business cards. _That's weird, what would one of Reid's business cards be doing in my bed?_ He picked it up and turned it over and saw that Reid had left him a message. "Goodbye Luke" was all it said. _That seems a bit formal, but at least he didn't just leave. _

Luke put the card down on his bedside table and headed to the shower.

Thirty minutes later, Luke was dressed and out the door. When he arrived at his office, he decided to call Reid to see if he could meet him for coffee at Java at 10:00. The call went straight to Reid's voicemail and Luke decided not to leave a message. _He must be busy. I don't want to bother him. I'm sure that I will talk to him later._

Reid slept in. He couldn't believe it, he never slept in. _It's 9:45 shit! I'll never make it to Java by 10:00. Fuck, fuck fuck!_

He showered and dressed as quickly as possible. He didn't even bother to eat anything as he rushed out the door.

He checked his phone and saw that he had missed a call from Luke. He checked his voicemail but it was empty.

_Well at least he called. That has to be a positive sign._ He smiled to himself as he drove the short distance to Java.

Luke arrived at Java at 10:00 to get his morning coffee. He quickly scanned the coffee house to see if Reid might be there. Reid wasn't there..

"Hey Luke, how are you?" Noah asked approaching Luke with two coffees. "I thought you might be in this morning so I took the liberty of preparing your coffee for you. I'm on a break so let's sit down and catch up."

Luke groaned inwardly, but didn't want to be rude. "Sure," he responded half heartedly.

Luke and Noah sat at a table that unfortunately had Luke with his back to the door.

"So how are things with you?" Noah asked. _Damn Luke looks good. _

"Good," Luke responded. "How are things with you?"

"Great, I have a really interesting film project in the works…" Noah began.

Luke drifted off while Noah droned on about his latest "amazing" film project. _Was Noah always this boring? Or am I just noticing it now because I have Reid to compare him too. Reid… I wonder what he's doing right now. God yesterday was fantastic. I hope that he enjoyed it as much as I did._

"What?" Luke asked as he saw that Noah was squinting at him. _Damn, I bet he realized that I wasn't really paying attention to him. _"That sounds really great, Noah! I bet your film will win a bunch of awards when it's on the film festival circuit," Luke improvised. Noah always appreciated getting his ego stroked.

Luke watched as Noah's face relaxed and knew that he had said the right thing.

Noah went off again talking about camera angles, lighting and important plot points while Luke began wondering where Reid was, what he was doing, and what he was wearing. _Reid please rescue me! I don't think I can fake listening to Noah for much longer. _

Reid checked his watch and saw that it was 10:15. _Please be here Luke, please be here._

As soon as Reid walked into Java he felt himself relax as he recognized the back of Luke's head. He couldn't help but smile at Luke's relaxed posture. Then he noticed that Luke wasn't alone. Reid's stomach plummeted and he quickly turned and left the coffee shop. _Fucking Noah Mayer! Why is Luke sitting with fucking Noah Mayer? Are they back together?_ Reid felt his stomach lurch at that thought. _No, they can't be back together. Luke assured me that he would never go there again. Why are they sitting together? Oh God, what should I do? I need to talk to him. Should I call Katie for advice? Oh my God, I am a grown man I can handle this. No I really can't. Fuck it, I am going to go in there and talk to him. What's the worst that can happen? He'll confirm that we're over and he's back with Noah. Fuck, kill me now. Okay I'm going in._

Reid re-entered Java with as much dignity as he could muster. He was about to walk over to Luke until he saw that the table was empty. _Fuck where is he now? Where is Noah? They had better not be having sex in the bathroom. _Bile rose in his throat at that image. _I need some brain bleach!_

"Reid, can I get you something?" Noah asked from the counter.

_Oh thank God, they are not having sex in the bathroom!_

Reid turned around so that he was now facing Noah who was squinting back at him.

"Uh…yeah, just a coffee please, black."

"You don't want your special caramel latte, this morning?" Noah smirked.

"No thank you," Reid replied coldly. _Why did everyone pay attention to what he drank?_

"You just missed Luke, he and I were having coffee together. He was very interested in a film project that I have in the works," Noah finished with a self satisfied smile on his face.

"Uh huh, how nice for you," Reid replied paying for his coffee and planning his escape.

"Luke is running errands," Noah called after Reid's retreating back, pleased that he knew Luke's schedule.

Reid didn't even bother to acknowledge this last statement.

_Why the fuck was Luke having coffee with Noah? Was it planned or did it just happen because Noah was working. Where are you Luke? I really need to talk to you._

Reid picked up his cell phone and punched in Luke's number. The call went straight to voice mail. Reid smiled as he heard Luke's voice, but hung up without leaving a message.

Chris had been lurking in a corner at Java and had witnessed the entire scene. He was giddy when he saw how distressed Reid had been when he saw Luke sitting with Noah. _Trouble in paradise; well let's just see if I can make it worse for the good doctor._

Chris went up to the counter and approached Noah. "You and Luke certainly looked chummy this morning," he mentioned casually.

"Yes, it was great talking to Luke," Noah answered dreamily.

"Are you guys back together? Luke sure looked happy to be with you," Chris added. _Truthfully, Luke looked like he was daydreaming about something or someone else, but Chris saw no need to mention that._

"Do you really think so?" Noah asked squinting at Chris.

"Definitely," Chris answered, wondering if there was something wrong with Noah's eyes.

_Perhaps Reid screwed up the surgery after all. Wouldn't that be fantastic, well maybe not for Noah, but really who cares about him?_

Hoping that the seed was firmly planted in Noah's brain, Chris walked back to the hospital.

Chris popped by the nurse's station pretending to be concerned about Reid.

He checked to make sure that Reid was not around before approaching Gretchen. Reid always made her cry and Chris reasoned this would make her a good ally.

"I'm concerned about Dr. Oliver, how did he seem to you today?"

"Oh my God, he is in a foul mood. I don't remember ever seeing him in such a state. I hope that he snaps out of it quickly. Do you know what's gotten him so wound up?" Gretchen asked, clearly concerned about Reid.

"I think that he and Luke are having problems. I think that Reid probably just needs some space. If I were you I would do my best to keep those two apart," Chris advised.

"Oh thanks for the tip. I will do that and pass the word on to the other nurses. Dr. Oliver is lucky to have as caring a friend as you are," Gretchen responded smiling at Dr. Hughes."

"Do you think that you could keep this little chat just between us? Reid might be embarrassed if he knew that I was looking out for him," Chris stated in an earnest tone.

"Oh, of course," Gretchen responded, nodding. _God knows how sensitive men are. I definitely don't want to open up that particular can of worms._

"Thanks I really appreciate your cooperation, and I'm sure that Reid would too." _Wow this was easier than I thought it was going to be. It must be because I have right on my side. I deserve this and Reid deserves to be miserable._

Reid was hiding in his office, sitting at his desk with his head in his hands. _What am I going to do? I am completely lost._

He picked up his phone and punched in Katie's number. _This is what Luke has reduced me to. I am now actively seeking advice from Katie. God help me._

"Hi Reid, how did it go?" Katie asked when she answered her phone. She had been waiting for this call; half hoping it wouldn't come until much later.

"It was a disaster," Reid began.

"Oh come on Reid. It couldn't have been that bad,"

"I didn't even get to talk to him," he moaned into the phone.

"Why not? Wasn't he at Java?"

"Yes, he was there, but he was talking to Noah."

"Oh," Katie answered uncertainly. "Well that probably doesn't mean anything; I mean they are friends after all."

"Yeah, that's what I told myself before I forced myself to go back in so that I could talk to him."

"Okay, well I'm glad that you went back in. That was definitely the right thing to do."

"Yeah well I was too late. By the time I went back in he was gone. Noah informed me that he was running errands," he finished bitterly. He hated that Noah knew something about Luke's schedule that he himself didn't know.

"Reid," Katie started in a gentle tone. "You still need to talk things over with him."

"I know, I called him on his cell, but it went straight to voicemail."

"I'm glad that you called. Did you leave a message for him?"

"No," he admitted. "I didn't know what to say."

"Okay, well at least you called, that's a start. I'm sorry but I have to go now. We'll talk about this more tonight. Okay?"

"Yeah," Reid replied. "Katie do you really think that this might all be a misunderstanding?"

Katie heard the naked pain in Reid's voice, and just wanted to hug him. Instead she told him what he needed to hear and prayed that she wasn't lying to him.

"Yes Reid, I really do. You just need to talk to him and to listen to what he has to say."

Luke and Lily finally got home from the airport. Lily insisted on telling Luke all about her adventures in Paris. Luke dutifully listened while she droned on and on about it.

When Lily had finally finished regaling Luke about her trip she gave Luke a list of errands she needed him to run for her, while she went upstairs to shower and nap.

Luke rolled his eyes inwardly but promised to complete the given tasks.

Once Lily went upstairs Luke checked his phone and saw that he had missed a call from Reid. Noting that there was no voicemail from him, Luke quickly phoned Reid's cell.

It went straight to voicemail. Luke sighed and hung up. _I had better take care of these jobs for my mom. Geez I still have to head back to the foundation. I will try Reid again later. I miss him. _


	18. Chapter 18

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Casey, Chris, Noah, and Lily.

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating PG 14

Warning: Strong Language

At first, Luke hadn't been all that worried about not getting in touch with Reid. He was busy with the foundation and getting his mom settled back in. So he just assumed that Reid must be busy too. That lasted two days.

On the third day, he woke up feeling very uneasy. The fact that he hadn't even spoke to Reid in two whole days began to weigh on him.

He looked again at Reid's business card and wondered at the words 'Goodbye Luke.' _What did he mean? Was he just saying goodbye or was he breaking up with me? Why hasn't he called me back? I wonder what he's thinking. _

_I thought that everything was going great. Could I really have been that far off the mark?_

He called Reid again and once again got Reid's voice mail. He left another message. "Reid, it's Luke, we need to talk. Call me!"

Luke stared at his phone, willing Reid to call him back, it didn't work. Luke sighed and decided to get ready for work.

Once showered and dressed he headed downstairs. He was just about how the door, when he heard his mother call his name.

"Luke sweetie, I've got breakfast for you."

"Thanks Mom," Luke replied with a sigh.

He sat down at the table and waited for his mother to bring him a plate.

Lily brought over pancakes and bacon with maple syrup and berries.

"Thanks Mom this looks great," Luke said without any enthusiasm.

"What's wrong, honey?"

Luke sighed he wasn't up for having this conversation with his mother.

"Nothing Mom, I'm fine," Luke stated firmly.

"Luke I'm your mother, I know when something is bothering you. What did that awful Reid Oliver do? I knew that he was trouble. You should call Noah."

"Mom just drop it. Reid didn't do anything and even if he had, I would not want to get back together with Noah. You have got to let that dream go. Noah and I are not right for each other."

"Okay Luke, I'll drop it for now. Please enjoy your breakfast."

Luke ate, feeling guilty for upsetting his mother. _God I just want to get out of here._

Luke ate just enough food to satisfy his mother, thanked her for breakfast and then headed off to the foundation.

While he was at work he kept checking his phone to make sure that it was on. His phone finally rang at 9:30.

"Hello,' Luke answered breathlessly.

"Hi Luke, are you okay?" Casey asked.

"Yeah," he answered feeling deflated.

"What's the matter? Were you expecting to hear for someone else?"

"I uh thought you might be Reid."

"Did something happen with you guys? He's even crankier today than usual."

Luke sighed heavily. "I don't know. Say do you want to meet for coffee? I could really use someone to talk to."

"Sorry I can't meet you right now but how about lunch? I can meet you at Al's at 12:00."

"Why don't I pick you up at the hospital instead?"

"Sure I'll see you around 12."

"Bye"

Luke hung up the phone and tried to concentrate on work, but thoughts of Reid kept distracting him.

Luke grabbed his jacket and headed out to Java.

He walked in and decided to get Reid a latte and take it to him. He really needed to talk to the other man and it was obvious that he was going to have to force the issue.

As he entered Java, he quickly scanned the room in the hopes of seeing Reid sitting at one of the tables. Reid wasn't there.

"Hey Luke," he heard Noah say from behind him. "I was worried that you weren't going to make it in this morning, you're usually here at 10:00."

"Uh yeah, I guess so," Luke responded feeling awkward.

"Do you want to have coffee with me? I really liked spending time with you the other day," Noah said with a hopeful smile.

"No, sorry I'm in a bit of a hurry. I'm just here to pick up a coffee for me and a latte for Reid."

Noah's face fell. "You're still seeing Reid? I thought that would be over by now."

"Why would you say that?"

"Well, you know, he's a lot older than you and it's painfully clear that you two are horribly mismatched. I mean he's a neurosurgeon and you didn't even graduate from college. I figured that he was just in it for the sex."

"Thanks for that Noah. That is just so flattering."

Noah squinted at Luke. "What's your problem? I'm only telling you the truth. I care about you Luke; I just don't want you to get hurt."

Luke rolled his eyes inwardly. "Can I just get the coffees so that I can go? I want a large black coffee for me and a caramel latte with an extra shot for Reid."

"Sure Luke, I'll get them for you."

When Noah had prepared the coffees he brought them over to Luke.

"Luke I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I just wanted to be honest with you. You know that I want us to get back together. Even you have to admit that we were great together and are a much better fit that you and Reid," Noah finished squinting intently at Luke to ensure that the younger man understood his motives.

"Okay, well I've got to go," Luke answered taking his drinks with him. _Was he always this self-centered? As if telling me that I'm not good enough to be with Reid would make me want to get back together with him._

Luke walked into the hospital and down the hall towards Reid's office. He was just about to say hello to the nurses when he noticed that they were all scowling at him. _That's weird, why are they all glaring at me?_

Luke, who was already nervous about barging in on Reid, started to feel very uncomfortable.

Gretchen came over to him. "What are you doing here Luke?" she ventured in a very cold tone.

"Uh I just came to see Dr. Oliver and to bring him a coffee," Luke explained feeling like a twelve year old.

"He's not available to see you, but you can leave his drink and I'll see that he gets it," she answered sternly.

"Is he with a patient? I don't mind waiting for him. I really need to see him," Luke knew that he was whining, but he really was desperate to see Reid.

"As I said, he's not available to see **you**. You may leave the coffee for him or you can take it with you, but I am afraid that I am going to have to ask you to leave."

Luke just stood there for a moment, gaping at Gretchen as well as the other nurses.

They all seemed to be in agreement. Reid must have barred him from visiting.

"Okay, if you could just give him his latte for me I would be grateful," Luke answered before walking away.

Chris who had been lurking in the background was feeling pleased by the scene that was playing out in front of him. _I can't believe how well this is working. I saw Reid this morning and he was a mess. Luke didn't look much better, which was kind of too bad, but oh well he was young, he would get over it. Really Luke was much better off without bloody Reid Oliver anyway. I will speak to Noah today and see if I can't get those two back on track. If they are together then Reid really will be alone._

Once Chris was sure that Luke was on his way he intercepted Gretchen who was about to deliver Reid's drink.

"Is that for Reid?" Chris asked feigning ignorance.

"Yes, Luke just dropped it off for him. He sure has some nerve showing up here, thinking he can just waltz in here whenever he feels like it."

"Do you mind if I take that to Reid? I'd like to check on him, to see how he's doing. I don't think that we should mention that Luke was here at all, do you?"

"No, not at all, you are such a good friend. I hope that he appreciates you."

"I just want him to be happy and if I can help make that happen then so be it," Chris smiled and headed towards Reid's office.

Chris forced himself to put on a serious face as he knocked on Reid's office door.

"Come in," Reid barked from within.

Chris opened the door tentatively and walked in.

"I thought that you might be able to use a little pick me up," Chris smiled as he handed the coffee to Reid. He was pleased to note the look of disappointment flicker across Reid's face. _He was probably hoping that I would be Luke._

"Thanks," Reid muttered taking the proffered drink and having a sip. _How does everyone know what I like to drink? It's bloody embarrassing. I can't believe I thought that it might be Luke at the door. I'm not sure what I would have done if he had been standing there. Christ he said that we need to talk. Does anything good ever come after that statement? Fuck, Chris is still here. Why the hell is he here?_

"So Reid are you okay? You look kind of out of it. Are you sure that you shouldn't go home and maybe sleep?"

"I'm fine. Why do you care?" Reid asked feeling suspicious.

"Hey I'm just concerned about a colleague. I wouldn't want you to make a mistake and take the hospital down with you. "

Reid just snorted. "I'm fine," he stated emphatically.

"Hey, I saw Luke and Noah together the other day. It looks like they're back together. I always thought that they made a great couple," Chris paused; pleased with the effect he was having on Reid. "Are you seeing anyone?" _Conveniently forgetting that he had seen Luke and Reid together at Al's a week ago. _

Reid blanched when hearing that Luke and Noah were a great couple but he got himself under control quickly. "That's really none of your business," he responded. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some patient files that I need to go over."

"No problem, I have rounds to make myself." Chris left Reid's office feeling very pleased with himself.

_He didn't confirm that he and Luke have broken up, but judging from the look on his face and the tone in his voice it is clear to me that those two are done! I wonder how Reid managed to screw it up so quickly. I thought that it would be much harder to come between them. _

_I have got to talk to Noah and Ali to make sure that Noah gets back together with Luke. Reid will be devastated and the path to the chief of staff job will be clear. All I have to do now is talk to the board members and convince them that Reid is a terrible choice for that position. I won't put myself forward; I will let them draw that conclusion on their own. Reid won't know what hit him._

As Luke strode down the hall away from Reid he wondered what had just happened. He had never felt more unwelcome at the hospital than he did right now.

_Reid must have said something to the nurses for them to behave that way. Maybe he really doesn't want to be with me._

_I wish he would just call me back so that we could talk. Even if it is over I would rather hear him tell me that than be left wondering._

_How am I going to get him to talk to me? _

_I need to talk to Casey, thank God that we are having lunch together. _

Luke went in search of Casey. He knew that he was early for lunch, but he didn't care. There was no way that he was going to be able to get any work done before he had a plan to talk to Reid.

"Dude, you're really early for lunch," Casey remarked coming up behind Luke.

"Yeah, I know," Luke sighed.

Casey noted the defeated look on Luke's face and realized that his friend was hurting.

"I'll see if I can take my lunch now, okay?"

Luke smiled weakly at Casey. "That would be great. I really need to talk to you."

"Dude, no promises. Wait here and I'll see what I can do, okay?"

Luke nodded gratefully.

Ten minutes later Casey returned with a smile on his face and a jacket slung over his shoulder.

"Come on, Luke time's a wastin'," Casey teased.

By the time they arrived at Al's Luke's mood had improved slightly just from being with Casey..

After ordering lunch, Casey turned to Luke. "So what big drama have you managed to get yourself caught up in today?" Casey's tone was light, but his eyes revealed the concern he felt for his friend.

Luke sighed heavily. "It's Reid," he began.

"No shit, really?" Casey responded with mock surprise.

"You're not helping," Luke glared at him.

Casey chuckled. "Sorry Dude, I couldn't help myself. So tell me what happened."

"That's just it, I have no idea. Three days ago we had an amazing date and the next morning he was gone and I haven't heard from him since."

"Are you sure that he thought the date was great or was that just your take on it?"

"I…I don't really know. I mean he seemed to enjoy everything, but maybe I was just projecting my feelings onto him."

"Tell me what you guys did and I'll tell you what I think. No…uh intimate details please, I'm eating."

Luke smiled and began to tell Casey about his last date with Reid.

"So basically the day was about sex and food, right?"

"Well yes, I guess you could look at it like that. For me it was about spending time with Reid, just hanging out," Luke responded with a dreamy smile on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I get that that's how you would see it, but Reid is a guy and I'm sure that he would be focused on the sex and the food. Which in my mind is the perfect date, and I would bet that Reid would see it that way too, provided that they were both good. Now I know Emma's cooking is superb, and who doesn't like a dinner catered by the Lakeview? I don't know the restaurant that you went to for lunch, but you thought the food was good, right?"

Luke nodded.

"Okay, so we know the food was good, what about the sex? Did he seem satisfied, No details please, I'm still eating."

"Yes he seemed to enjoy it, I mean I uh think so," Luke responded, suddenly feeling very insecure.

Sensing Luke's concern, Casey quickly switched tactics. "Well, this wasn't your first time together correct?"

Luke nodded, blushing furiously.

"Did he ever complain about anything?"

Luke shook his head, still blushing.

"Then I'm sure that you have nothing to worry about in that department," Casey stated with a knowing glance.

Luke shrugged. "How can you be sure?"

"Reid is blunt, if you didn't satisfy him, he would tell you. He would probably give you instructions. That's one thing about Reid; he doesn't keep his opinions to himself to spare someone's feelings. He would just flat out tell you that you sucked, and not in a good way, and then explain to you how to do better."

Luke genuinely smiled for the first time that day. _Casey's right. Reid would tell me exactly what I did wrong in an effort to "help" me do better the next time._

"So how did this great date end?" Casey wanted to know.

"We were lying in bed and I leaned over and kissed him and told him that I loved him and then I fell asleep. The next morning I woke up and he was gone. All that was left was his business card with the words goodbye Luke on it. I thought that he had been paged by the hospital for an emergency, but now I'm not so sure. I wish that he had woken me up to at least say goodbye, rather than just leaving that cryptic note."

Casey laughed at this.

"What?"

"Luke, you sleep like the dead. I have seen you sleep and nothing wakes you up. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to wake you, without success."

Luke sighed heavily. He had heard this before.

"What do you think I should do, Casey?"

"Dude, you know what to do. You need to talk to him. Otherwise you are going to drive yourself crazy wondering what's going on. Just find him and talk to him."

"What if he won't talk to me? I told you what happened with the nurses when I tried to talk to him earlier."

"Yeah, I'll admit that that was kind of weird, but Dude do you really want to have this conversation with him in public? You know where he lives, go there and wait for him. You are the most persistent guy I know, you will find a way to make him talk to you. Just make sure that you listen to him when he does and make sure he does the same."

"That's a great idea, Casey. I will go over to his place after work with a pizza and wait for him to come home. That way he'll have to talk to me."

Luke beamed as Casey, and the other man nodded in response.

"Thanks Casey," Luke said as he paid the bill.

"Don't mention it, that's what friends are for," Casey replied as the two men got up to leave Al's.

Several hours later, Luke pulled into the parking lot of Reid and Katie's apartment building. He was nervous, but determined to talk to Reid. He forced himself to get out of the car and grab the pizza. _Hopefully the pizza will soften Reid up._

He knocked on the door and was slightly disappointed when it was Katie who answered.

"Luke,' she greeted him, surprise evident in her voice.

"Hi Katie, is Reid in?"

"No, he's still at the hospital."

Luke's face fell. "I really need to talk to him. Do you mind if I come in and wait for him?" Luke pleaded.

Katie beamed at him. _Thank God Luke had the good sense to come over and talk to Reid. _

"Sure Luke that would be fine. I was actually planning on staying at Tom and Margo's tonight," she lied easily. "So I'm just going to pack a bag for us and get out of your way."

"Thanks Katie," he smiled at her, relief flooding his body.

When Katie returned to the living room with Jacob and her bags in tow, Luke immediately offered to help her to her car.

"Thanks Luke, you're a lifesaver,"

"You're welcome," he replied. "Katie, do you have any idea why Reid has suddenly decided not to talk to me?"

Katie smiled sadly at the young man. "I can't talk to you about Reid, Luke. I'm sorry, but he's my friend and I have to respect his privacy. I will say that I am very glad that you have come over to talk to him." She then leaned over and kissed him before getting into her car and driving away.

Luke sighed as he walked back to the apartment and got himself settled in to wait for Reid.


	19. Chapter 19

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating: NC 17

Warning: Strong language and smut.

Luke had to wait awhile before Reid finally made it home.

Reid had been about to leave for the day when a head trauma came into the ER which ended up requiring emergency surgery. The patient was a young girl who had been hit on the head with a baseball bat by her drunken father. Reid hated these cases the most. The cases that were completely avoidable. Reid felt drained as he walked into the darkened apartment.

"Hello," he called out expecting Katie to answerer him.

"Hi Reid," came Luke's reply.

"Luke? What the hell are you doing here?" _Oh my God, why is Luke here? He's going to want to talk and I'm really not equipped for that. _

"I left you some messages telling you that we needed to talk, you didn't respond so I came over. We need to talk."

"Where are Katie and Jacob?" Reid asked in attempt to stall, so that he could regroup.

"Katie and Jacob are spending the night at Tom and Margo's, so it's just the two of us and we are going to talk," Luke stated emphatically.

_Traitor, Katie wasn't planning on staying with Tom and Margo tonight, she left so that Luke and I could bloody well talk. Fuck!_

"Luke, I can't talk right now, I'm starving. There isn't any food in the house so I'm going to head over to Al's," Reid announced, pleased that he had found an out.

"Not so fast Reid. I brought a large pizza with everything on it, just the way you like it,. I'll just heat it up in the oven."

_Shit, shit, shit. What am I going to do now?_

"I don't really feel like pizza tonight," he lied. "I really want to go to Al's."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Okay, we can go to Al's but then you're going to be stuck having this talk with me in public. It's your choice."

Reid sighed in defeat. "Fine, you win Luke. We'll have pizza here." The last thing Reid wanted was a loud, messy, public break-up.

Luke went to the kitchen and turned on the oven.

"I'm going to have a quick shower, while dinner is heating up. I just came out of surgery and I stink."

"Fine, but don't take too long," Luke warned.

Luke busied himself heating up the pizza. He was encouraged by the fact that Reid hadn't kicked him out. Yes the other man had tried to escape, but he hadn't actually fled.

Luke was determined to find out exactly what was bothering Reid and then fix it. He was not prepared to let the other man go without a fight.

Luke got busy heating up the pizza. While he was waiting for Reid he had managed to find a loaf of French bread in the bread box, as well as 1/2 lb of unsalted butter , a head of garlic and a lemon. Since he had the time he decided to whip up some garlic butter for the bread, which he heated along with the pizza. He had made a tossed green salad earlier so he got it out of the fridge and put it on the table. He whisked together some balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and quickly tossed the salad with the vinaigrette.

Reid was reassessing the situation while he was in the shower. _Luke is here. Llluuuukkke is here. What does that mean? Well if he really did dump me surely to God he wouldn't feel the need to come by and dump me again in my own home. Maybe I overreacted, just a bit. On the other hand if things are fine, why didn't he join me in the shower? Are relationships always this confusing? On the other hand, oh fuck, I'm out of hands. Oh well who cares? Luke is here. LUKE IS HERE!_

Reid got out of the shower and got dressed in navy blue sweat pants and a soft, heather grey, Harvard t shirt. He felt refreshed and ready to face Luke. He was pleasantly surprised by the delicious smells emanating from the kitchen.

"Luke you cooked. I thought that you only knew how to make bacon and eggs," Reid remarked, with a smile.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I can't really cook, you know that. All I did was toss a salad and make some garlic butter for the French bread that was already here."

"Sounds and smells like cooking to me. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now sit down and I'll bring out the pizza."

Reid did as he was told, noting that Luke had also set the table and put a beer at his place. _How did he know that I desperately needed a beer? God I hope we can work this out. I really missed him and I don't want to let him go._

Luke brought out the pizza, the bread and the crock of garlic butter and set them on the table. He handed Reid the spatula so that he could serve himself first.

"Aren't you brave, letting me go first. Aren't you afraid that there won't be any left for you?"

"I'll take my chances," Luke responded with a smile.

Once the men had begun to eat they both began to relax.

"So what's wrong?" Luke asked finally.

Reid sighed. _Why does he have to ruin this by talking? Why can't I eat and just enjoy having him here with me? He's going to make me talk about my feelings. UGH._

"Talk to me Reid. I have no idea what's going on with you."

Reid shrugged and looked at his plate, which he noticed was emptier than he would have liked; "you broke up with me."

"I what?" Luke responded feeling absolutely shocked. "What are you talking about?"

Reid looked directly in Luke's eyes, feeling encouraged by the surprise in Luke's voice. "The other night you said that you were 'really going to miss this.'"

"I did? I don't remember saying that at all."

Reid glared at Luke, wanting some sort of satisfactory explanation.

"Oh, I wasn't breaking up with you, you idiot. I just meant that I would miss having you in my bed every night, because my mom was coming home the next day. Is that why you left without saying goodbye?"

"I left you a note," Reid replied defensively.

"On your business card, yes it was very romantic," Luke teased. "Why didn't you wake me up and just ask me what I meant?"

"I tried, believe me I tried but you just kept sleeping. Frankly it was a little offensive that I was having a major freak out and you just slept." _Oh my God, did I just admit to having a freak out? Very attractive, Oliver!_

"I'm sorry that I didn't wake up," Luke apologized.

Reid shrugged.

"Why didn't you just talk to me the next day?"

"I tried. I went to Java at just after 10:00 to have coffee with you," Reid said pointedly, "but you weren't alone,".

Luke nodded. "I was with Noah, wasn't I?"

"Yes."

"He was boring me to death, why didn't you come over and rescue me?"

"You looked busy," Reid replied with a shrug.

"Oh my God, you thought that we were back together, didn't you?"

"Maybe," Reid conceded after an extended pause.

Luke reached out for Reid's hand and Reid grasped it.

"Reid, listen to me carefully, I will never get back together with Noah, never."

"Never, is a very long time Luke," Reid pointed out.

Luke stood up and walked over to where Reid was sitting; he reached out with his free hand and took Reid's. Once he was holding both hands he pulled the older man to his feet. Luke gazed lovingly into Reid's eyes and willed him to understand. Really understand what he was about to say.

"Reid I am in love with you, only you. I thought that I was in love with Noah and maybe I was, but it diesn't compare to the feelings that I have for you. I know that I will never go back to Noah because it would be settling for something less than what I have with you. I am not that person. I will never settle."

Reid allowed the words to wash over him like a warm caress. As he looked into Luke's gaze he could feel the sincerity of Luke's words and he too knew that he would never be able to settle for anything less than what he had right now. Slowly a smile began to appear on his face as he allowed himself to truly be happy.

"I love you too, Luke," Reid said just before he leaned in and captured Luke's lips.

Luke felt his knees go week from equal parts desire and relief. Reid felt Luke falter and dropped the younger man's hands so that he could wrap his arms around Luke in attempt to steady him and also be closer.

Luke immediately followed suit, wrapping his arms as tightly around Reid as was humanly possible.

They stood there for a long time, just making out; kissing each other, tasting each other exploring each others mouths. It was heaven.

Reid was the first to crack. "I need you, Luke," he said pulling his mouth away from Luke's and staring into the younger man's dark brown eyes.

The naked yearning in Reid's voice touched something deep inside Luke and he grabbed Reid's hand and dragged him to the bedroom.

_Luke is here, Luke is here, Luke Is Here!_

Once inside Reid's bedroom the two men stripped off their respective clothing. Luke drank in the sight of Reid's beautiful, naked body.

_God he is so beautiful and he's mine, he's really mine._

The two men lunged at each other, not able to stay apart for one second longer. Their bodies pressed together each of them revelling in the feel of skin against skin. Each man was rock hard and as they stood together their cocks naturally strained to touch the other.

Reid, finding it hard to stay upright began moving them backward until he felt the backs of his knees touch the side of his bed. He allowed himself to fall backward, pulling Luke down on top of him, managing never to break contact.

Luke was the first to pull away. He took a moment and just stared into Reid's beautiful blue eyes which were now dark with desire.

_He wants me, he really wants ME. Oh my God I can't quite believe that he REALLY WANTS ME._

Luke finally tore his eyes away from the longing in Reid's eyes and began kissing the other man in earnest.

He started at Reid's pulse point, kissing and nipping, before sinking his teeth into the tender skin just below it, needing to mark him. To show the world that Reid was his.

Reid's sharp inhale of breath encouraged Luke to keep going.

Luke moved over to Reid's adam's apple and began laving it with his tongue. He could feel Reid swallow hard with desire.

Reid reached between them to touch Luke's cock, needing to make contact, but Luke immediately pulled his hand away.

"No, not yet," Luke murmured.

Reid groaned in frustration and Luke chuckled.

Luke left open mouthed kisses on Reid's neck until he settled on his other pulse point. He loved the sensation of Reid's pulse underneath his tongue. He laved it with his tongue and then nipped at it with his teeth before soothing it once more. He loved feeling Reid's heart rate increase when Luke bit a little bit harder. _God he __**is**__ the sexiest man alive._

Luke moved lower to the spot just above Reid's clavicle and let his teeth sink into the tender skin. He sucked long and hard, marking him once more.

"Luuuukkkkkeeee," Reid moaned in pleasure.

Luke continued downward allowing his tongue to taste and tease as much as he wanted. He paused at Reid's left nipple, carefully sucking and nipping at it and laving it with his tongue while he squeezed and teased the right one with his nimble fingers.

The incredible sounds that Reid made in his throat urged him to continue.

He switched sides not wanting either nipple to feel neglected. Reid began to arch his back and thrust his cock into Luke's desperate for some friction.

Luke reluctantly moved out of reach.

"Luke you're killing me here," Reid managed to get out.

Luke moved slowly downward dipping his tongue into Reid's belly button. He travelled further south leaving a trail of butterfly kisses in his wake.

Reid kept moaning Luke's name like a litany and it got increasingly louder as Luke came closer to Reid's weeping cock.

Luke bypassed it and began running his tongue in circles along the top of Reid's inner right thigh.

Reid moaned incoherently as the wonderful sensations coursed through his body.

Luke moved over to Reid's left thigh and began the same process. Then he allowed the tip of his tongue to glide over Reid's balls.

_Holy fuck, Luke is going to kill me!_

Reid reached out a hand and opened his bedside table and withdrew a bottle of lube and a strip of condoms.

He thrust them at Luke.

Luke stopped what he was doing as he received the lube and the condoms, and looked at Reid quizzically.

"I need to feel you inside me, Luke. I need you to fuck me," he stated firmly and flipped over so that he was on all fours.

"Are you sure?" Luke asked incredulously.

"Fuck yes!"

Luke paused for a moment. "Can I use my tongue? I really want to taste you."

"Yesssssssssssss," Reid hissed out.

_He really is going to fucking kill me!_

Reid grasped the rails in the headboard and hung on while Luke's magical tongue began exploring his hole.

_Oh my God, my tongue is in Reid's ass. He tastes incredible, musky and earthy and just perfect. I hope he likes this as much as I do. _Just then Reid jerked his hips back in an effort to get more of Luke's tongue inside his ass._ I think he does!_

"Luke…. Fuck ….Me….Now!

_Bossy bottom!_

Luke withdrew his tongue reluctantly and quickly grabbed the bottle of lube. He quickly put some into his hand and rubbed it over three of his fingers.

He inserted one finger into Reid's glistening hole and felt no resistance. He was about to add a second when he heard Reid moan "more!"

Luke smiled to himself and added a second finger, stretching Reid gently but thoroughly. Reid began to rock his hips and Luke added a third finger. He crooked his middle finger and was rewarded when Reid shivered as Luke brushed against the other man's prostate.

He allowed his finger to drag over Reid's sweet spot a few more times.

"Fuck…Me…Now!"

Luke carefully withdrew his hand and quickly sheathed his cock with one of the condoms and lined himself up with Reid's hole.

He pushed in slowly, allowing Reid to adjust. When he was halfway in he felt Reid tighten around him, and knew that the other man was experiencing some pain.

"Let me in, Reid," he cooed softly as he leaned over and began drawing circles with his tongue between Reid's shoulder blades.

He heard Reid breathe in and felt him relax.

Luke began to push forward again. He managed to get all the way in and again felt Reid's walls constrict. Luke waited for Reid to adjust.

"Fuck me!"

Luke stayed still for another minute just enjoying the sensation of being balls deep inside of Reid.

"Luke…Fuck …Me,"

Luke began to move, slowly but purposefully in and out. He changed the angle until he knew that he was hitting Reid's prostate with each thrust.

Luke was getting close and he could tell that Reid was straining trying to hold back his own orgasm.

Luke reached around and grasped Reid's cock, stroking it lovingly.

"Come for me, Reid. I've got you, just…let…go."

"Llluuuukkkkeee." Reid screamed as his whole body seemed to let go as his orgasm rocked through his body.

As Reid released his ass clamped down on Luke's cock triggering Luke's own release.

Luke clung to Reid's back as he felt his orgasm wash over him in waves of ecstasy

Reluctantly he carefully pulled out of Reid and removed the now full condom and tied it off before throwing it in Reid's garbage can.

Luke repositioned himself along side Reid and gently, but firmly pulled the older man against him.

"Wow," was all he managed to say.

"Wow," was all the other managed to answer..


	20. Chapter 20

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Bob and mentions of Noah and Chris

Summary: This is the story of the courtship of Reid and Luke.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating R

A/N Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

As Luke and Reid lay curled together in Reid's bed, Luke wanted to make sure that they learned from this experience so that they didn't keep having these misunderstandings.

"So Reid, what have we learned from this?"

Reid smiled. "That you are an excellent top, Mr. Snyder."

"Reid, that's not what I meant," Luke replied, blushing with pleasure.

"Also, you give an excellent rim job! Your tongue in my ass is a little piece of heaven."

"Stop it Reid, you're turning me on," Luke sighed.

"Why on earth would that be a bad thing?" Reid asked truly puzzled.

"Reid, please be serious."

"I am serious, Luke. That was amazing and frankly I can't wait until we can do it again," he stated as he turned his head to give Luke a heart stopping kiss.

"Stop it, Reid. We really need to talk," he said feeling unnerved. "I think that I should put some clothes on."

"No," Reid cried horrified at the thought of Luke hiding his beautiful body in clothes. "I'll behave, I promise. What do you want to talk about?"

"We need to learn from this experience so that we can grow as a couple," Luke stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Okay, okay I get it, so tell me what exactly have we learned?" Reid asked knowing this would go much faster if Luke just told him what the problem was rather than trying to figure it out on his own. _Brain surgery I understand, relationships, not so much._

"Geez Reid, obviously we should have learned that we need to communicate better. When something happens that upsets one of us we need to talk about it. When I say one of us I mean you," Luke added pointedly. "You can't run away every time you get scared or I'll spend all of my time trying to catch you and make you talk to me."

Reid laughed at that image.

Luke frowned, "There will be no sex for you if you keep running away!"

That thought instantly sobered Reid. "No sex? You can't be serious."

"Well Reid, logistically we won't be able to have sex if you are running away from me."

"Alright, but you have to admit that the make-up sex was pretty incredible," Reid said as he rolled onto his side so that he could stare into Luke's eyes.

"Yes the make-up sex was incredible, and I'm sure that we will have plenty of fights that we will have to make-up after, but the point is we need to make sure that we talk to each other, okay?"

"Okay, I will try to talk to you if I start to freak out again. You're going to have to be patient with me though, because this relationship stuff is all new to me. I suck at it and I'm not used to sucking at things."

"Reid you don't suck at this. You are an amazing boyfriend, but you need to talk to me so that I can help you," Luke reassured him with a smile.

Satisfied that the talking portion was over, Reid began to run his hand over the contour of Luke's body. _I really would like Luke to stick his tongue back in my ass. God that felt amazing. I sure as hell hope he knows that I wasn't joking about that!_

"So we're okay, right?" Luke asked still somewhat amazed that they had solved this crisis so easily. _Noah and I never ever settled anything this easily._

Reid looked directly into Luke's warm brown eyes. "Yes Luke we're okay, hell we're more than okay," as he leaned in and kissed Luke soundly, trying desperately to remove any doubts that Luke might have.

"So does this mean that you're going to lift the ban you ordered at the hospital?" Luke teased once the kiss had ended.

Reid's eyes flew open. "What are you talking about? I would never ban you from the hospital."

Luke looked confused. "I brought you a latte yesterday morning and Gretchen flat out refused to let me give it to you. Didn't she tell you it was from me when she gave it to you?"

"Gretchen didn't give me my coffee, Chris did and he acted like he had gotten it for me. No one even mentioned that you had dropped by."

"That's odd. Why would Chris give you the latte? No offense, but the guy seems to hate you. I've caught him glaring at you several times."

"Yeah, you're right. Apparently we went to med school together and I won a fellowship that he wanted."

"Was he the runner up?"

"No, I have no idea where he finished. I don't even remember him from med school. Apparently he was one of the people who believed the rumour that I had cheated in order to win."

"Really, people thought that you had cheated?"

Reid just shrugged.

"Wouldn't it be nearly impossible to cheat? I mean I imagine that the committee who selects the winner would be looking out for that sort of thing, wouldn't they?"

"Yes," Reid agreed. "I don't know if people really believed that I had cheated or if was just sour grapes. I didn't care what people thought of me then and I don't care now. The Harvard committee investigated and was never able to validate the charges because they were false."

"So it sounds like Chris has been holding a grudge for a long time," Luke began. "That being said why would he go out of his way to talk to you?"

"I don't know," Reid paused. "Actually he mentioned you."

"Me?" Luke asked, surprised. "What did he say about me?"

Reid closed his eyes wishing he hadn't brought this up. "He said that he thought that you and Noah were back together. Apparently he had seen you together and said that you looked cozy."

"What? The only time I've seen Noah recently was at Java and we definitely weren't cozy. Did you see him there the other day?"

"No, but then I was only looking for you. I guess he might have been there. Did you see Noah at any other time?"

"Not really, well I saw him yesterday morning, but you definitely couldn't say were together then," Luke answered with a frown.

"What happened?"

Luke sighed. "He wanted to have coffee with me again and I said no because I just wanted to get our drinks and then go and see you," Luke paused. "I told him that I was getting you a latte and he started going on about how you were just interested in having sex with me and how I wasn't good enough for you," Luke finished feeling embarrassed.

"Sorry I shouldn't have dumped all of this on you."

Reid reached over and kissed Luke, long and hard. "I love you, Luke."

Luke nodded.

"You're not dumping anything on me. I believe that you are uh communicating with me," he teased. "I have to admit that I'm amused that Noah, of all people, thinks that you're not good enough for me. I can assure you that everyone else in this town thinks the opposite is true."

"What do you think?" Luke asked nervously chewing on his lower lip.

"I think that we complement each other. We're very different but somehow we fit. What do you think?"

"I think that you're right. After all, you are a genius," Luke finished teasingly.

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke.

"So what do you think is up with Chris? This is all very weird."

"I don't know. Are you friends with him? Is he a friend of Noah's?" Reid wanted to know.

"I know him, but I've never hung out with him after all he is kind of old."

"He's my age, Luke. He's hardly ancient," Reid replied, glaring at Luke.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. I guess it's because you're so much hotter than he is."

"Nice recovery."

"He might have become friends with Noah, because he used to date Ali and Ali and Noah are definitely friends."

"Chris and Ali dated, really? She nearly married Casey a few months ago, Chris's nephew, right?"

"Yes."

"Alrighty then," Reid answered shaking his head. _Bloody Oakdale you need a score card to figure out who has slept with whom. _"So it's possible that Noah told Chris that the two of you were back together, but the whole thing just seems strange; especially when you add in the fact that the nurses wouldn't let you in to see me. It makes me uncomfortable," Reid paused to think for a moment. "Luke, I need you to do me a favour, one that you are not going to like."

"Okay." Luke responded not liking the sound of that. "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to stay away from me at the hospital. Chris seems to want to believe that we aren't together so let's let him."

Luke's face fell. "Reid, I can't be your secret. I just can't do it. I'm sorry."

"Luke, I'm not asking you to be my secret. I just want you to stay away from me at the hospital. I just need to figure out what's going on with Chris. I have a feeling that this has something to do with me getting the chief of staff job. I don't know what Chris is capable of and I'm not comfortable with him trying to use you against me. I am going to try to talk to Bob today and hopefully we will get this sorted out quickly."

"What about the board meetings for the neuro wing? We both have to attend those and I don't want to pretend that we're not together during those."

"That's fine. I don't think that I am capable of pretending that we're not together when I'm near you anyway. Chris won't be at those meetings and we don't have another one scheduled for a couple of weeks. I'm hoping that the situation, whatever it is, with Chris, is sorted out by then."

"So everything will stay the same between us, right? If we happen to see Chris when we're out you don't want me to suddenly disappear, do you?"

"No of course not, if we happen to see Chris we'll deal with it then. I have no desire to change my life for Doogie Hughes. I just don't want to flaunt it in front of him in case he is planning something. Do you think that you could be okay with that?"

"Yes."

"Good," Reid smiled at Luke. "Now can we get on with more important things?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Luke inquired with false innocence.

"I want your tongue in my ass," Reid stated, "Now!"

Luke smiled and kissed Reid warmly on the mouth and then did as he was told.

Later that morning after very enjoyable morning sex followed by equally amazing shower sex, Reid found himself in Bob's office.

"So Reid what can I do for you today?" Bob asked genially.

"I'm worried about Chris and I thought that I should let you know of an incident that happened yesterday."

"Are you telling me this as Chris's father or as his boss?"

"Both I guess," Reid replied with a shrug.

"Very well," Bob answered with a world weary sigh.

Reid proceeded to tell Bob about Chris giving him his latte, and the inference that Luke was with Noah. Hearing himself say the words to Bob he felt a little bit silly, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Bob listened and wondered what the big deal was.

"Reid, I'm afraid that I don't understand the nature of your concern. Why is it such a big deal that Chris delivered a coffee to you?"

Reid blushed, feeling utterly ridiculous. "I know that it sounds stupid, but the truth is that Chris hates me and it just seems odd that he would go out of his way to deliver anything at all to me, and then pretend that he had bought it for me."

"Are you sure that you're not reading too much into this?"

"I could be, I don't know. All I know is that I have a really bad feeling about this. Chris really doesn't like me at all and it makes me nervous that he was making comments about my personal life."

"Are you sure that he even knows that you and Luke are serious? Maybe he was just making conversation."

"I don't know what he knows about Luke and me or not. He did see us together the other day at Al's and I'm guessing that we looked like we were together. I'm not exactly known for my subtlety."

Bob acknowledged that Reid had a point there, he had heard about Luke and Reid through the hospital grapevine but he really hadn't thought they were serious, until now. "He might have seen Luke and Noah together and assumed that they were a couple again. Those two have a habit of breaking up and making up. It's hard to keep track of them. It's possible that he wasn't even thinking about you and Luke dating. You are quite a bit older than Luke and he may have thought that the two of you were just having a fling."

"That does make sense," Reid agreed, feeling better after hearing Bob's rational explanations for Doogie's behaviour.

"There is one other piece to this strange puzzle that I would like your thoughts on," Reid added.

"Okay," Bob replied.

"When Luke came to deliver the latte to me the nurses wouldn't let him into my office. Do you have any idea why the nurses would do that?"

Bob smiled in that grandfatherly way of his. "I'm betting that the nurses were trying to protect you. As you mentioned subtlety is not your strong suit. You were so happy for a couple of weeks when you and Luke started dating. Everyone noticed, I heard about it from several employees. Then you two had a fight and the nurses probably thought they were protecting you, and themselves, by prohibiting Luke from seeing you."

"How would they be protecting themselves?" Reid asked feeling perplexed.

Bob just stared at Reid. _Interpersonal communication is not your forte! Thank God that you and Luke are back together, hopefully he can help you with those!_

"I'm guessing that they were afraid that seeing Luke would incur your wrath and that while Luke would experience some of it, he could leave, the nurses would have to deal with you for the rest of their shifts."

"Ah," Reid nodded as comprehension dawned on him. "You make a good point."

"I'm always glad to help. Do you want me to talk to Chris about any of this?"

"No thanks Bob. I would appreciate if you didn't tell him that Luke and I are back together. I'm going to try to keep my private life just that, private."

"Certainly," Bob smiled at Reid. _Good luck with that! _"Are you going to speak to the nurses?"

"No," Reid shook his head. "I've asked Luke not to visit me at work. I really do want to keep my private life private."

Bob nodded and sent Reid back to work.

Once Bob was alone in his office he began to wonder if Chris might be up to something after all. He knew that he had responded to Reid with reasonable explanations, but he couldn't help the niggling feeling that told him something was off with his son. He would have to keep an eye on things.


	21. Chapter 21

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Reid and Luke

Other characters: Casey, and Chris..

Summary: This is the story about the courtship of Luke and Reid.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating: NC 17 for smut and language.

A/N Thanks to everybody who has left comments for me. I really appreciate everything that you write.

Luke was going to the hospital for the first time since Reid had asked him not to visit. Of course he was not here to see Reid. Casey had phoned and asked him to meet him at the cafeteria for lunch. Luke had tried to get out of it, suggesting that they go to Al's instead, but Casey had insisted that they eat at the hospital so here he was.

Reid knew that Luke was coming to have lunch with Casey here at the cafeteria. He also knew that he should avoid that area at all costs while Luke was in the building. Reid had even gone so far as to ask Luke to text him when he had left so that he would know the coast was clear. He knew all of this logically, the problem that where Luke was concerned he was unable to listen to reason, which is why he found himself heading to the cafeteria at the exact time that Luke was meeting Casey.

Luke and Casey had agreed to meet in the cafeteria, so when Luke arrived he quickly scanned the tables to see where Casey was sitting. He was shocked when he noticed Reid sitting at a table across from Casey. They briefly locked eyes before Luke quickly turned away and headed toward Casey.

"Hey Dude, what's up with you and Oliver?" Casey asked as Luke sat down with his back facing Reid.

Luke shrugged, hoping to avoid the question, but the look in Casey's eye told him that he had better come clean.

"We're back together, but Reid doesn't want the hospital staff to know about us," Luke explained.

Casey frowned. "Dude, are you okay with that? I mean I remember how hard it was on you when Noah and Ameera were married."

Luke sighed, deciding to tell Casey the whole story, after all Reid had insisted that they weren't a secret, and Casey was his best friend.

"It's not like it was with Noah, not at all. Um, Casey this is kind of hard for me to say, so please just hear me out, okay?"

"Sure Dude, you have me intrigued now," Casey encouraged.

"Well Reid really doesn't want Chris to find out about us. I'm sorry to put you in an awkward situation, but Chris has been acting really weird. Reid spoke to Bob about it, and Bob was able to explain away Chris's behaviour in a logical way, but there is something about it that bothers Reid."

"What has my Uncle Chris been doing?"

"Uh, well nothing really, I guess, it's just kind of strange. Chris seems to hate Reid, and I mean really hate him. They went to med school together, and although Reid doesn't remember Chris, Chris certainly remembers and resents Reid."

To Luke's surprise, Casey was nodding. "That actually makes sense. Chris has always felt entitled to everything and he hates having to work hard. Harvard was tough on him; in fact I think he had to repeat a few classes. Don't quote me on that, but I'm pretty sure that he did. Reid seems like he skated through med school and that would have really burned Chris's ass. He would have felt that it was completely unfair."

"Really?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, it's true; my dad is kind of like that too. He can be really sanctimonious, like he's better that everyone else. I mean my dad really believes that he is the greatest lawyer in the US if not the world," Casey finished, rolling his eyes.

"Well your dad is a fantastic lawyer."

"Yeah, I guess so," Casey conceded. "So tell me what Chris has been doing."

Luke told Casey about the latte incident and how he mentioned that he thought that Luke and Noah were back together. He also mentioned that both he and Reid felt that Chris had talked to the nurses, asking them to ban Luke from Reid's office.

"Well I agree that the whole Chris delivering coffee to Reid is weird. I mean Chris generally feels that the world exists to do his bidding and not the other way around, unless you're a hot girl that he wants to bed, but other than that I have rarely seen him go out of his way for anyone. I don't know why he would care who you were seeing, but I think that Ali may have suggested that you should be with Noah to him. She may also have asked the nurses to keep you away from Reid."

"Why would Ali do that? She knows that Noah and I broke up. She mentioned him to me, but I thought that I made it clear to her that I don't want to be with Noah."

"Well Ali is pretty stubborn. She really thinks that Reid is bad for you and that Noah and you are meant for each other. She asked me to help her break the two of you up, but I refused. It's possible that she then turned to Chris, who for whatever reason, may have agreed to help her."

Luke just shook his head.

"Well I guess that I need to stay away from Ali for awhile. I don't want to lie to her and I don't want to tell her that Reid and I are still together. I know that it's asking a lot, but if Chris, Ali or Noah asks you if Reid and I are together, do you think that you could cover for us?"

"Sure, Luke," Casey agreed with a smile. "I don't have the same moral fortitude that you do. I may not even have to lie; I can probably just evade the questions."

"Thanks, Casey," Luke said, relief clearly showing on his face.

"Hey, I have some news to share with you too. It's the reason that I wanted to have lunch with you."

"What's that?" Luke asked clearly intrigued.

"I just got into college in Carbondale. I'm planning on going to law school once I finish my undergrad degree. What do you think?"

Luke beamed at Casey, clearly pleased for his best friend. "I think that's terrific news, Case. You're going to make a fantastic lawyer, maybe even give your dad some competition down the road."

"Thanks Luke, that means a lot. Most people just think that I'm a screw up and it means a lot to me that you think that I have a shot at success."

"Casey, you're going to be great, I'm sure of it! Who knows you may end up working for me at the foundation or Grimaldi shipping. How cool would that be, us working together?"

"Pretty cool," Casey replied with a big smile on his face.

"You do know that Reid has been staring at your back the whole time we've been having lunch don't you?" Casey asked.

Luke blushed. "Uh yeah I thought so. I could feel his eyes boring into my back. How does he look? Is he unhappy?"

"How would I know? I'm not a girl I can't read facial expressions, especially his which are generally blank."

Luke turned to his left trying to catch a glimpse of Reid's beautiful face; instead he ended up locking eyes with Chris Hughes.

"Casey, did you know that Chris is staring at us too? He's sitting at a table to my left."

Casey waited a moment and then casually glanced to his right and saw that Chris was indeed staring at Luke and at Reid. It was obvious that he was trying to figure out what was going on between the pair.

"Do you want to hook up with Reid?" Casey asked.

Luke blushed again. "I can't, Reid doesn't want to see me at the hospital."

"Then why is he here? I think that he wants to see you, alone. The question is, do you?"

Luke swallowed hard and then he nodded his head.

"Pass me your phone, but do it under the table so that Chris won't notice."

Luke did as he was told.

Casey made a big show of answering his phone. "Sorry, Luke I've got to answer this text," he said aloud.

Casey of course texted Reid from Luke's phone, meet me in the supply closet on 3W in 10 minutes. L

"There that should do it," Casey said as he faked putting his phone away, and handed it back to Luke.

Luke could feel his phone vibrate a response, but didn't dare check it.

"Are you all done?" Casey asked.

"Yes," Luke responded.

"Can you walk me back to my station?"

"Sure," Luke responded and the two men picked up their respective trays and deposited them on the cart. Luke noticed that both Reid and Chris were still seated at their respective tables.

As soon as they had cleared the cafeteria, Luke pulled out his phone to read his text message. It was one word yes

"What exactly is Reid saying yes to?"

"You'll see," Casey replied with an enigmatic smile.

Luke just nodded and followed Casey to the supply closet on the third floor.

"Get in," Casey stated. "He should be here in about 10 minutes. I'll be cleaning this area so that I will be able to keep an eye on things so that the two of you are undisturbed. All I ask is that you do it quickly and quietly. I can only clean this hall for so long," he stated pointedly.

Luke just nodded and whispered his thanks to Casey before going into the closet.

As Luke stepped into the small room, his emotions were all over the place. He was excited, nervous, terrified and thrilled. _Oh my God, I can't believe that I'm going to have sex in here with Reid. Oh my God! I've never done anything like this before. Noah would have been horrified at the idea, but I'm not. Not at all, should I be? No, no no, I'm not going to second guess myself. Reid said yes, so clearly he wants this too. Casey said to be quick so perhaps I should get started. _

As Luke began to undress quickly his brain kept screaming _Reid is coming, we're going to have sex in here. Oh my God Reid is coming!_

He retrieved the small tube of lube which, he now always carried with him, from his jeans. He was so turned on knowing that Reid would be coming through the door at any moment that he could barely contain himself.

Reid had been delayed as he noticed that Chris had followed him out of the cafeteria. Reid went to his office, praying that Chris would be satisfied and go back to work. _God, he's a doctor, doesn't he have patients that he needs to see? Why is he following me? Ugh. Luke is waiting for me and I have to get rid of stupid Doogie!_

Reid gathered everything that he needed and put the items in the pockets of his lab coat and headed out. He felt like an idiot but he checked to make sure that Doogie was not around. Judging that the coast was clear, Reid headed for 3W.

_Christ I hope that Luke hasn't given up on me and left. Stupid Doogie!_

When he finally got to the storage closet he saw that Casey was cleaning the hallway. Reid gave the younger man a brief nod and opened the door.

Reid quietly opened the door and closed it behind him careful to lock it before turning his attention to Luke.

When he saw Luke standing there, touching himself with one hand and opening himself up with the other, Reid was overcome with desire.

"Holy fuck, Luke," Reid breathed out, staring at Luke, completely transfixed.

"Sorry, um Casey said to be quick and quiet, so I um sort of got started without you," Luke mumbled feeling embarrassed but not stopping what he was doing.

Reid quickly shucked his pants and boxers, sheathed his cock and positioned himself behind Luke.

"Never apologize for being this hot, EVER!" Reid whispered into Luke's ear, managing to nibble on it at the same time. "Are you ready?" he asked nudging Luke's hand out of his ass.

"Fuck yes," Luke hissed in response, roughly removing his own hand.

"Good," Reid said as he slammed into Luke, causing the younger man to gasp, and reach out his hands to lean against the wall for some much needed support.

Reid wrapped one arm around Luke's waist to gain leverage and used his other hand to play with Luke's nipples.

"Fuuuucckkk Reid," he moaned as Reid found just the right angle.

Reid smiled to himself and moved his hand away from Luke's hardened nipples so that he could stroke Luke's leaking cock.

"Shhhh, I know you're close but you've got to be quieter." Reid commanded as Luke's moans were getting louder.

Luke nodded and removed one of his arms from the wall so that he could use it to muffle his cries.

Seconds later Reid felt Luke shudder and release hot liquid all over his hand.

Luke's orgasm triggered Reid's release and he bit down, hard on Luke's neck in order to muffle his own noises.

Luke slumped against the wall, needing it to stay upright. Reid clung to Luke for the same reason. The only sound in the small room was their ragged breathing as they both recovered their equilibrium.

"Wow that was hot!" Luke stated as he finally regained the power of speech.

"Yeah, who knew you could have so much fun in such a small space," Reid said suddenly aware of the rather limited space that they were occupying.

"Oh my God, I completely forgot about your claustrophobia, are you okay?"

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke soundly, trying to remove all doubt from the blonde's mind.

"Luke it was totally worth it. You are totally worth it," Reid said staring into Luke's worried brown eyes. "All the same I'd like to get you cleaned up so that we can get out of here."

Luke suddenly felt embarrassed realizing that he had nothing to clean himself up with when he noticed that Reid was digging around in his lab coat.

"Baby wipes? You seriously carry baby wipes with you?"

"Hey they're not just for babies you know," he responded with a smile and began cleaning off Luke's chest with great care and efficiency.

"Thanks," Luke said quietly as he enjoyed Reid taking care of him.

Once Reid was finished, Luke quickly got dressed.

Reid pulled up his boxers and his pants and then quickly wiped Luke's errant come off of the wall that had proven so useful during their earlier activities.

Reid turned and kissed Luke one last time before reaching for the door handle so that they could exit.

Just as his hand touched the handle he heard Casey's voice and quickly pulled his hand away.

"Chris, what are you doing up here?" they heard Casey ask.

_Fucking Chris Hughes, must he ruin everything?_

"I have a patient up here and I wanted to check on them," Chris lied smoothly.

"You have a patient up here? This isn't peds you know, why is one of your patients up here?"

Luke and Reid looked at each other expectantly.

"Look Casey, it's a special case so I had them transferred up here, okay?" Chris answered testily. "Why do you care anyway?"

"Geez Chris I was just asking you don't need to blow a gasket," Casey replied happy to see Chris so flustered. _He's definitely not here to see a patient; I bet he wants to ask me about Luke. _"Well I guess that you had better get going to check on this special patient of yours."

_Christ why was Casey picking now of all times to pay attention. I have been looking for him since lunch. I need to ask about Luke. I have to know what is going on between him and Reid._

"Well Casey I do have a couple of minutes to talk to you. I hardly ever get to see you anymore. How are you doing?"

_Crap, Luke and I are going to be trapped in here for awhile now that Chris has decided he needs to chat with Casey. Hasn't he heard of the phone?_

Luke, sensing Reid's discomfort reached over and held his hand. Luke gently rubbed his thumb up and down the length of Reid's. "Think about the brain," he suggested quietly.

Reid allowed himself to drift away, enjoying the comfort of Luke's touch. He no longer found the brain to be his happy place; his happy place was with Luke.

Reid closed his eyes and started to imagine what it would be like to share a place with Luke, so that they could be together on a more permanent basis. He started to smile at the idea of going to bed with Luke each night and waking up with him each morning when he heard Chris say Luke's name.

_What the fuck did Chris just say?_ He turned a questioning eye toward Luke who merely shrugged in reply.

"Why are you asking about Luke and Reid?" they heard Casey answer.

"I'm just worried about Luke. I know that he is a good friend of yours and I just don't want to see him get used up and tossed aside by Reid Oliver."

"Why do you think that Reid would use Luke and then toss him aside?"

"Look I went to med school with the guy and let me tell you the guy is a total user. He cheated on a Fellowship that should have gone to me."

"Wow, you were the runner up for a major fellowship at Harvard, that's incredible. I wonder why I've never heard about it before."

Reid smirked quietly inside the closet, knowing that Chris was lying.

"Well I wasn't exactly the runner up, but I helped her with her research and so my name would have been published with the winning article if she had rightfully won."

"So Reid really cheated and won? Wow, that's a huge accomplishment. I mean those things must be pretty heavily monitored so that people can't successfully cheat. I bet it was harder for him to cheat and win than it would have been just to win it on his own merit," Casey stated, not even trying to keep the admiration he felt toward Reid out of his voice.

Luke and Reid shared a smile knowing that Chris must be apoplectic.

"Casey, you don't understand. He robbed ME of an honour that I was ENTITLED TO!"

"Come on Chris, you know how hard it is to get away with cheating on campus. Look at what happened to Luke and me when I stuffed the ballot boxes when he ran for student council president. We got kicked out, and that was just Oakdale U. Granted we might not have been caught if Noah hadn't ratted us out to the dean, but whatever. It is very impressive that Reid put one over on Harvard."

"I've got to go," Chris stated through gritted teeth. _I fucking HATE Reid Oliver. Why can't people see how awful he is? GRRRRRRRR._

Casey chuckled to himself as he knocked on the closet door.

"So did you really cheat or is Chris just being an ass?"

"I didn't cheat," Reid stated emphatically. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

"No problem," Casey said and grabbed his stuff and went back to work.

"I want to hear more about this election and why the hell that bastard Noah Mayer turned you in, but I have to go back to work now. Are you free for dinner tonight?"

"No," Luke said regretfully. "How about tomorrow night, what time are you off?"

"I'm off at six."

"Great I'll pick you up," Luke replied with a devious smile. "By the way we're having dinner with my family, so be prepared. My mom wants to get to know you better."

Reid's face fell. "Luke I'm not sure that that is such a good idea. I really want to hear more about the election and school and all that, but I don't want to do that in front of your parents, unless I have to," he added pointedly.

"There's not that much to tell," Luke sighed, _why did Casey have to open up his big, fat mouth. _"I'll pick you up tomorrow at 6 and we can talk about it on the way over to dinner, okay?"

"Okay," Reid heard himself agreeing. _How does he do that? He always manages to get me to agree to things that I don't want to do._

"By the way, Grandma Emma is bringing dessert," Luke said just before he turned the corner and was out of sight.


	22. Chapter 22

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Emma, Noah, Ali and Chris

Summary: This is the story about the courtship of Luke and Reid.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

Rating PG 14

Warning: Strong language.

A/N Thanks to everyone who has commented on this story. I hope that you are enjoying it. Please let me know what you think!

Reid couldn't believe that he had agreed to have a family dinner with Luke's family. _What was I thinking? Lily's going to be there, in fact she'll be acting as the hostess. Oh my God! Perhaps I'll get lucky and someone with a traumatic brain injury will come in and need my assistance, preventing me from going to that particular circle of hell._

_Then again, Luke will be there and Emma will be making dessert, maybe it won't be that bad. Oh who am I kidding, it's going to be horrendous!_

As Reid sat at his desk mulling over these thoughts his phone vibrated, indicating that he had a call coming in. He looked at the ID which read Emma Snyder.

_Oh my God, why is she calling me? Has something happened to Luke? Oh my God, oh my God, ohmygod!_

"Hello," he managed when he was able to answer the phone.

"Reid dear, is that you?" Emma queried.

"Yes Emma it's me, what can I do for you?" he inquired. _She doesn't sound upset, so I'm sure that Luke is fine. Breathe, Reid breathe._

"Well dear, as I'm sure you know, I am making dessert for tonight's dinner, and since this is in your honour I wanted to make sure that I prepared something that you would like."

Reid was speechless, in fact, he nearly dropped the phone. Nobody had ever made a special dessert for him, not even for his birthday, this was completely unprecedented. Reid had no idea how to respond.

"Reid, are you still there?"

"Y y yes," Reid managed to splutter out. "Emma I really don't want you to go to any special trouble for me. Whatever you make will be delicious."

Emma smiled at this. _I don't care what Lily says, Reid Oliver is a lovely young man!_

"Oh Reid, it's no trouble, I promise. How about I offer you some choices and then you can decide. Does that sound alright to you?"

"Yes that would be great," Reid replied, marvelling at how thoughtful she was.

"Well I was thinking about making crème brulee or crème caramel as one option, I always make at least two desserts for these things. Now I often make pie, but I don't really feel like making a fruit pie, but I was thinking about making a hazelnut pie iced with chocolate ganache. Or I could make a chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis. What do you think? Do any of those appeal to you?"

Reid was drooling on his end, "They all sound wonderful, Emma. I've never had hazelnut pie before, so I would really like to try that."

"Excellent, I was really hoping that you would pick that one. Now which do you think we should have, crème brulle or crème caramel?" Emma, of course had made both, as they were both better the next day. She just wanted to know which one Reid would prefer.

"Um… I really like crème brulle, if that's not too much trouble."

"Reid dear, it really is no trouble at all. How would you like to be in charge of the blow torch? I could really use a hand with that, and I have feeling that you are just the man for the job."

"I'd be honoured Emma."

"Great! Thanks for your help. See you tonight!"

"See you tonight," Reid echoed thinking that the dinner might not be so bad after all.

Meanwhile…

For the fourth day in a row Luke hadn't come in to Java for his morning coffee. _I just don't understand why he hasn't come back to me yet. I told him that I would forgive him, so what's the deal with him. Maybe I really do need a plan to get him back. Hmmmmm._

Noah picked up the phone and called Ali.

"Hi Ali, how are you?"

"I'm fine, how are you? Are you and Luke back together yet?"

"No," Noah grumbled. "Not yet, that's actually why I'm calling you. I don't understand why he hasn't begged me to take him back yet. You don't think that he's still with that awful Dr. Oliver, do you?"

"I don't know. I hope not. You are so much better for Luke than he is."

"I know, right? Why doesn't Luke realize that, it's just so frustrating."

"Well Chris is concerned about Luke too and he really thinks that Reid is a terrible match for him."

"Do you have any idea how I can get him back?"

"I think that you just need to talk to him, Noah. You know that he loves you, just make sure that he knows that you love him too and I'm sure the two of you will be back together in no time."

"I think that he's avoiding me. He hasn't been in for his morning coffee for four days, and the last time I saw him his feelings might have been hurt."

"What did you say? I'm sure it wasn't that bad, after all you're such a great guy."

"Well I just told him the truth about his relationship with Reid. I mean it's so obvious that they don't belong together, and I just pointed that out to him."

"Well I understand why you wanted to point out the obvious to Luke, but you have to remember that he's sensitive. You should apologize to him, just to smooth things over."

"I guess I could do that," Noah huffed. _Luke is so lucky that I am such a great guy!_

"Let me know what happens, okay?"

"Sure, thanks for your advice."

At the same time:

Chris was in his office at the hospital pacing back and forth. _I hate Reid Oliver, I really hate Reid Oliver repeating in his head as though it were on a loop. He can't become the next chief of staff. I won't allow it. Why can't everybody see what I see? UGH!_

Chris had spoken to many of the board members in order to discourage them from voting for Reid. He hadn't openly campaigned for the top job, but he had tried to lead them in that direction. Surely the board was smart enough not to leave a pompous ass like Reid in the top spot. Unfortunately the board members he had spoken with hadn't been as receptive as he had expected. Some had even had the gall to say that they were backing Reid. One even suggested that Reid's relationship with Luke was going to make Memorial Hospital a force to be reckoned with. Chris had had to grit his teeth and pretend that he fully approved of this power couple, while carefully hinting that Reid and Luke might have broken up. He was pleased to see that the board member's lofty opinion of Reid appeared to falter.

_Grrrrrrrr._ _Chris knew that he had to find a way to ensure that if they had broken up, as he was pretty sure they had, that they stayed that way. Why hadn't Noah taken Luke back yet? God it's not like he has anyone better waiting in the wings. If only I were gay then I could break them up myself. Why is everyone else so incompetent?_

At the foundation, Luke was beginning to panic in earnest. _What have I done? What have I done? Why did I think that it was a good idea to invite Reid to my parent's place for dinner?_

Luke knew why of course. Reid was important to him and his family was important to him and he needed those two factions to get along. He hated strife and he just didn't want to be in a position where he was forced to choose between his family and the man that he loved.

_I'm not ready for this, I'm just not ready!_

_Oh my God, I have to tell Reid about getting kicked out of school before we have dinner. What if he dumps me and then I'll have to go in and face my family alone. Oh God, I don't think that I can handle the humiliation. What am I going to do?_

Just then Luke's phone started playing "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" signalling that Reid was calling.

_Maybe he's calling to cancel. Please God let him cancel. I won't even give him a really hard time. Pleeeaaassseee!_

"Hi Reid, what's up?" Luke asked trying desperately to keep the panic out of his voice.

"Hey Luke, what's wrong?" Reid asked, clearly registering the distress in Luke's tone.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Luke replied, his voice rising an octave, betraying his statement.

"Luke… if you're worried that I've called to back out of dinner tonight you can relax. Your Grandma Emma just called me and asked me to choose what I wanted for dessert. No one has ever asked me that before," he added shyly.

"Wow, she must really like you, in fact she must consider you family. We're the only ones who have menu input," Luke responded, feeling much better. It was nice to know that his Grandma was on their side. The fact that her gesture had obviously touched Reid made Luke feel all gooey inside, which he of course tried to hide from Reid.

"So what did you choose?"

"You'll have to wait like everyone else, Mr. Snyder," Reid replied with a smile in his voice. "However, I have managed to get off of work at 5:30 so that I can go home and shower and change for dinner. Can you pick me up at my place instead?"

"Uh… sure, what time do you want me to get you?"

"Can you come by at 6:00? Dinner is at 7:00 and that should give us time to talk about your misspent youth."

Luke felt his stomach clench at the mention of talking. "Do we really need to talk about that? I'm really not very proud of that incident."

"Luke I'm not here to pass judgement, I just want to know what happened, okay?"

Luke sighed, "Okay, I'll tell you when I see you tonight."

Two hours later Luke was knocking on Reid's front door.

"Just a minute," Reid called from inside just before he reached the door.

Luke was pleased to see that Reid wasn't fully dressed when he opened the door.

"Hi," Luke said quietly, his voice husky with lust.

"Hey," Reid replied as he welcomed Luke into his apartment. "Sorry, I haven't finished getting dressed yet."

"No need to be sorry," Luke responded waggling his eyebrows at the older man. _Maybe I can distract him with sex so that I won't have to explain the whole college debacle._

Luke leaned over and kissed Reid hoping to distract the other man. Luke opened his mouth in order to invite Reid's tongue to come inside to play. Reid took the bait and moved his whole body closer to Luke's. He sighed happily.

_Wait, wait, wait, Luke is just trying to distract me, fuck, I have to stop kissing him and make him talk to me! Christ WHO AM I?_

Reid reluctantly pulled away from Luke. He took Luke's hand and led him over to the couch.

"Do you want something to drink?" Reid asked, giving both of them a moment to regroup.

"Yes please."

Reid got up and walked over to the kitchen, buttoning his shirt as he went.

Luke sighed in resignation as he realized Reid was not going to let him off the hook.

Reid passed Luke a soda and took a long sip from his bottle of water.

"So tell me about the student election and the aftermath that led to your being kicked out of the illustrious Oakdale U," Reid prompted as he moved closer to Luke wanting his physical presence to comfort Luke as he recounted, what must have been a very difficult time in his young life.

Luke began to tell Reid about the disastrous student election. He talked about Kevin's dirty politics and Casey's idea to stuff the ballot boxes and his approval of the plan. Finally he talked about getting expelled and how disappointed his parents had been.

Reid listened until Luke was finished talking. He was surprised by the events but mostly he was upset by the pain clearly evident in Luke's voice.

Luke braced himself for Reid's reaction.

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke warmly on the mouth. "Wow, you and Casey were not quite the dashing dynamic duo that you had hoped to be."

"No I guess not."

"Was this Kevin the same Kevin that you had a crush on in high school?"

"Yes," Luke nodded sadly.

"So now tell me why Noah ratted you two out. It seems to me you probably would have gotten away with it if everyone had just kept quiet."

Luke just shrugged. "Well um Noah didn't approve of my tactics and felt that he had to tell the Dean the truth when he was questioned."

"That's it? He just decided that he had to tell the truth in that instance? Geez that was very supportive of him."

"Noah is a very honest guy; he just didn't feel comfortable lying to the Dean."

"Huh? Why are you defending him? He's not that honest. He faked a marriage to a woman and forced you to hide your relationship, right? He expected you to lie to the INS which is a hell of a lot more serious than a stupid student election. Noah is a manipulative bastard. He plays the honesty card, only when it is in his best interest."

"What are you talking about? I mean I guess you have a point about the marriage to Ameera, but really Noah is a very straight shooter."

Reid just stared at Luke in disbelief. "What about when he pretended that he was romantically involved with Maddie so that his father wouldn't disapprove of him? What about when you blackmailed me into coming here, he didn't seem to object to that."

"Well, he didn't know about that at first, and when he found out about it he was angry with me."

"What? He was angry that you secured the best neurosurgeon in the country to come here and fix him?"

Luke nodded.

"So let me get this straight, he probably made you feel guilty for blackmailing me but he didn't refuse my help. He never said a word to me about it. If he was truly upset about your behaviour he would have refused my treatment and sent me back to Dallas. God he's a bastard," Reid fumed, tightening his grip around Luke's shoulder.

Luke beamed at Reid, feeling a strong wave of love wash over him. He leaned over and kissed Reid trying to use his body to express all of the emotions that were swirling around inside of him.

"Not that I'm complaining but what was that for?" Reid asked as they broke apart.

"I just love you so much. I can't believe that you are completely on my side. You make me feel like you will always have my back and I can't tell you just how great that makes me feel."

Reid just gaped at Luke for a moment. "Of course I'm on your side. I'll always have your back. I love you, Luke and that means I will support you, no matter what."

"Thanks," Luke said shyly. "You know what the irony of the whole student election nightmare is?"

"Oh God, there's more? I'm almost afraid to hear this," Reid remarked. "But I'm dying to find out what it could possibly be."

"Well the reason that I ran in the first place was because Kevin had promised to cancel the gay film festival and Noah had a film that he was planning to show at the event. So I ran for president to preserve Noah's dream," Luke laughed and Reid joined in marvelling to himself that Noah could be such a colossal idiot. "Yeah it's kind of funny now, but it sure wasn't at the time."

"Yeah, I'm sure that it wasn't. I'm really sorry that you had to go through all that," Reid stated staring into Luke's eyes, trying to rid the younger man of all the pain that Noah had inflicted on him.

Luke leaned in and kissed Reid lovingly, hoping that it would go further, but Reid once again pulled away.

"I want you, Luke, but we have to go to your mom's for dinner. We're already going to be late. I know that your mom doesn't really like me so I don't think that showing up at her house with that "freshly fucked" look on our faces is going to win her over."

Luke giggled at that image and reluctantly agreed with him.

As Luke drove them to Lily's he felt the need to warn Reid about his mother.

"Reid, you know that my mom considers Noah part of the family, right?" Luke began.

"Yes," Reid answered cautiously, hoping that this wasn't the part where Luke announced that Noah would be joining them for dinner.

"Well she will probably sing his praises at dinner. Can you please just try to ignore her? I will do my best to run interference, but there's only so much I can do."

Reid nodded at the veracity of Luke's statement. "Noah's not going to be at dinner is he?"

"God no," Luke stated feeling himself blush. "I specifically forbade my mother from inviting him. I told her that we would leave and take the food with us if he showed up."

Reid chuckled. "Good," was all that he replied.

As they walked up to the front door, Reid suddenly felt nervous. _Is it really important that my partner's mother approves of me? Wait a minute did I just call Luke my partner. Oh my God! Breathe, Reid, breathe._

Reid took in a long, deep breath. "Do I uh look okay?"

Luke beamed at him. "You look perfect," he responded and grabbed Reid's hand before opening the front door.

End Notes: I am a total foodie so if anyone wants a recipe for any of the food that is mentioned in this story please just leave me a note and I will send it to you.


	23. Chapter 23

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Reid and Luke

Other characters: Emma, Lily, Holden, Natalie, Ethan, Faith and Noah

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid. This is AU, there will be a train in this story but it's not coming for Reid.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine!

Rating PG

A/N I wanted to thank Acadian Proud for suggesting the filet mignon main course that they will be eating tonight at dinner.

As soon as Reid and Luke stepped through the front door, Reid felt his knees go week as he inhaled the delicious smells of food. He looked over and smiled at Luke.

"It's so nice of you to grace us with your presence," Lily said sarcastically, while she glared at Reid.

Reid felt suddenly awkward. "Sorry we're late, it was my fault, it took me longer to get ready than I had planned."

Luke squeezed Reid's hand, amazed that the other man was willing to accept the blame.

"Hi Mom, thanks for having us, everything smells great!"

"Thanks Baby," Lily replied coming over to hug Luke hello. "I'm so glad that you could make it." Lily noticed that Luke didn't let go of Reid's hand while she was hugging him. This earned Reid another dirty look.

"Oh Reid you made it. It's so good to see you," Emma cried as she walked over to give Reid a hug. "It's great to see you too, Luke," she said giving Luke a hug as well.

"Thanks Grandma, it's wonderful to see you too."

Reid noted that Emma was wearing an apron and looked a bit harried and correctly surmised that she had done all of the cooking.

"The food smells delicious, Emma. You've outdone yourself," Reid praised her.

Emma blushed shyly at the young man, smiling her appreciation at his compliment.

"I helped," Lily grumbled behind Emma's back.

"Of course you did dear," Emma replied patting Lily's hand condescendingly.

"You've done a wonderful job, Mom. The house looks beautiful," Luke beamed at his mother and squeezed Reid's hand hard, to encourage him to say something, complimentary.

"Yes, Lily the house looks great," Reid echoed with a weak smile.

Lily looked like she was going to say something nasty to Reid, so Emma stepped in. "Reid can you come with me to the kitchen? I would really appreciate it if you could taste test some of the appetizers for me."

"You had me at kitchen," Reid grinned. "Please lead the way." Reid reluctantly let go of Luke's hand and followed Emma toward the food.

"Mom, you promised that you would welcome Reid into our home?" Luke admonished his mother.

"Come on, Baby give me a break, I went out of my way to host this lovely dinner for him and he can't even be bothered to show up on time. Noah would never have pulled something like that."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Mom, Noah and I are over; you have got to give up on that dream. We were only ten minutes late, so what's the big deal? I know that Reid said it was his fault, but the truth is, it was mine. In fact, if it was up to me, we would still be at Reid's, so please don't punish him."

Lily merely smiled at he son who was too nice for his own good. "Holden, can you please tell Luke that he needn't defend Reid to me."

"Hi Dad," Luke said noticing his father was sitting quietly in the corner of the living room.

"Hi Luke, it's nice to see you," he said getting up to hug Luke. "You'll have to introduce me to Reid if you can pry him away from Mama. She's quite taken with him, you know."

Luke beamed at his dad, happy that he seemed to be on his side.

Lily smiled at Luke. "Can you go upstairs and get your brother and sisters and have them wash up before they sit down at the table, it's just about time to eat."

"Sure Mom," he sighed and then went to recruit his younger siblings.

Meanwhile Reid was in heaven taste testing all of Emma's delights.

"I think that we should bring the food to the table as it seems that everyone is starting to assemble," Emma suggested.

"I guess so," Reid replied with great reluctance. "This food is amazing Emma, I can't believe that you made all of this."

"Thank you Reid," she replied with enormous affection. "It's nice to be appreciated."

She then led Reid to the dining room, both of them carrying platters of food.

Emma had decided that the appetizers should all be seafood. She knew that Reid hailed from Boston and had correctly guessed that he would be a fan. She had made a warm crab dip that was served with homemade French baguette, smoked salmon spread that was served with gourmet crackers, sautéed prawns that had been cooked in lemon juice instead of wine out of deference to Luke. Aside from the seafood she had also made a large platter of crudités served with a creamy garlicky dressing. Reid's eyes were as big as saucers as he gazed lovingly at the vast array of food on the table. _This is only the first course; I can hardly believe that there is more food coming my way. God I love Emma!_

"Reid, why don't you come and sit with me," Lily invited, sweetly.

"Um…"Reid began

"No Mom, I want Reid to sit beside me," Luke stated firmly at the same time.

"You were supposed to sit beside Ethan," Lily pouted.

"That's okay Mom, I want to sit beside Reid," Ethan offered. "Do you really get to cut into other people's brains?" he asked with big, round brown eyes.

"Yes," Reid nodded, taking his seat between the two youngest Snyder men.

"Cool, I want to know all about it," Ethan enthused.

"Ethan, please don't bother Reid. I'm sure that he doesn't want to talk about his work with you," Lily stated making it clear that she did not want to hear about brains.

"That's okay, I'm happy to talk about brains. They're all different and yet they are all fascinating."

"Well you know there are much more pleasant things to talk about at dinner, like movies," suggested Lily. "I mean directors must live such fascinating lives, don't you agree?"

"I think that it would depend on the director," Reid answered diplomatically while Luke glared at his mother.

"I hate talking about movies, especially the boring ones. Remember when Noah would drone on and on about lighting and stuff? I mean who cares about that? All I care about are cartoons and they hardly ever have lights in those movies," Ethan volunteered.

Reid smiled at Ethan deciding that he was Reid's third favourite Snyder.

"Ethan please don't be rude. Noah was just very passionate about his film projects," Lily chided. "Being a director is a very demanding job."

"Not as demanding as a brain surgeon, I bet," Ethan quickly pointed out.

Lily sighed heavily. "Ethan those are very different jobs, it's hard to say which one has more value."

Reid snorted.

Ethan turned to Reid with a look of awe on his face. Nobody ever snorted at the dinner table, ever!

"Didn't you operate on Noah and give him back his eyesight?" Ethan asked.

"Yes," Reid replied.

Ethan nodded. "Well I bet Noah thinks that being a brain surgeon is way more important than being a dumb old movie director."

"Ethan, Noah is a movie director. I'm sure that he thinks that his job is important," Lily barked.

"Maybe, but not nearly as important as a brain surgeon," Ethan reiterated.

"What makes you say that?" Holden inquired.

"Well, when he lost his sight ne needed Reid to fix him, but I bet you've never needed a director for anything, have you?" Ethan looked at Reid waiting expectantly for an answer.

"Nope, I can honestly say that I've ever had much use for a director," Reid answered smiling at Ethan.

"See, that proves it."

"You must have been really good at science when you were at school," Natalie stated trying to diffuse the tension at the table.

"Yes, I took all of the science classes I could when I was in high school."

"I'm surprised you can remember what you took in high school, as it must have been a long time ago," Lily commented dryly. _This is not going the way that I had planned at all. _

"Well not as long ago as it was for you, but I was blessed with an excellent memory, so I remember it quite well," Reid answered as sweetly as he could. "Do you like science, Natalie?"

"Yes, and I was wondering if maybe you could look at my science project after dinner. I'm having a little bit of trouble with it and no one else really understands chemistry."

"Sure, I'd be happy to take a look at it."

Lily turned to Faith in attempt to take control of the conversation and to steer away from all things science.

"So Faith, who are you going to the Winter Formal with? When do you want to go shopping for a new dress with me?" Lily asked brightly.

"God Mom, I'm not going shopping with **you**. I'm not ten, you know. I'm not sure who I'm going with yet and what business is it of yours? God Mom!" Faith glared at her mother. _Why are parents so clueless?_

"Faith, honey, you know I love you and I just want to make sure that you're happy. I'm sure that we would have fun shopping for a dress together. We could even go in to Chicago to get one," Lily tried valiantly to win Faith over.

"Yeah, no I don't think so. Chicago is a good idea though; do you think that Aunt Carly might take me? Ooooh maybe she could design a dress for me. That would be so cool."

Lily looked crestfallen, Faith looked hopeful, Reid fought the urge to laugh and everyone else just looked uncomfortable.

"You'll have to talk to Carly about this yourself. I don't have any idea what her availability is," Holden stated as diplomatically as he could.

"Well it looks like everyone is finished with the first course," Emma announced. "Reid would you mind helping me clear the table?"

"Not at all," Reid replied, happy to be able to escape. The fact that he was going to the place where the food happened to be was a bonus.

Reid had just brought several plates into the kitchen and placed them carefully on the counter next to the sink when the doorbell rang.

_Oh my God, who can that be? Who knew there could be so much drama at one dinner party?_

"I'll get it," cried Emma putting down a serving platter.

Emma rushed over to the front door, cringing inwardly when she recognized the visitor.

"Hello Noah, what can I do for you?" Emma asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hi Emma," Noah responded warmly and opened his arms so that Emma could hug him she just stood there with arms crossed in front of her chest..

Noah squinted at Emma, trying to figure out what her problem was.

"Is Luke here," Noah finally ventured when he saw that Emma was not going to invite him in.

"Yes, he's here, but this is not a good time, as we are in the middle of a family dinner," Emma stated firmly.

"No problem, I'm starving," Noah announced with a smile on his face.

"I'm sorry Noah, but this is a family dinner, you'll have to arrange to see Luke another time."

"Wha, what?" Noah gasped out. "Are you asking me to leave?" Noah queried, gaping at Emma.

"Yes," Emma replied with a firm nod. "Good night Noah. Oh and please don't phone Luke tonight, I'll tell him that you stopped by and I'm sure that he'll call you when he gets a chance." With that she closed the door firmly leaving Noah on the front stoop squinting at the house. _What the hell was that? Since when am I not family, I hope that Emma isn't sick or anything. I'll have to mention this to Luke when he calls me._ Noah took one last look through the window and thought that he spotted a head of reddish blonde hair. Hair that looked very much like it belonged to one Reid Oliver. _What the hell is he doing at a family dinner? Is he the reason that I wasn't allowed in to the house? I can't believe that he has wormed his way into a family dinner. I have got to save Luke!_

Noah trudged back to his car and got in shaking his head. _I have got to fix this!_

"Who was at the door?" Lily asked as Emma stepped back into the dining room.

"Nobody important," she replied with a shrug.

Reid smiled to himself, knowing that it was Noah, having caught a glimpse of the brunette as he walked away from the house.

Reid brought out a platter of fillet mignon that had been glazed with a balsamic vinegar reduction and finished with goat cheese that had been melted under the broiler to perfection by Emma. Reid had had to force himself not to nibble at them before bringing them out.

He placed them in front of Luke ensuring that Luke would serve him first. Reid knew that Luke would choose the best piece for him.

He then returned to the kitchen to help Emma bring out the rest of the side dishes. The amount of food that Emma had created was enormous. She had made buttermilk biscuits,

Macaroni and cheese, asparagus, roast potatoes, corn, peas, buns and of course gravy.

"Your grandmother has outdone herself. This is amazing," Reid stated reverently.

Luke smiled at Reid and shook his head. "I hate to say it, but this is a typical dinner for Grandma. She loves to cook, and we love to eat!"

"Now that's a perfect relationship," Reid nodded with satisfaction.

"The food is amazing, Emma. I can't believe you prepared all of it yourself."

"I helped," Lily said, through gritted teeth.

"Uh huh, well it's all fantastic," Reid replied diplomatically.

_I wonder what Lily made, and if I should avoid it. _Just then Reid felt a tug at his shirt.

He looked down to see Ethan looking up at him expectantly.

"My mom, set the menu and told Grandma exactly what to prepare," Ethan whispered to Reid.

Reid rolled his eyes. "Now that makes sense," he whispered back.

Ethan giggled. "My dad rolls his eyes at my mom too. She can be really silly."

Reid laughed out loud.

Lily immediately turned and glared at Reid. "What's so funny? Care to share with the rest of us?"

Reid looked at Ethan and winked. "Ethan was just telling me that I am just like his father."

"What?" Lily gasped. "You are nothing like Holden. Why would Ethan say that?"

"Well," Reid began looking directly at Lily. "We both love Luke," he said and turned and kissed Luke soundly on the lips. "I guess that Ethan thinks that's a pretty important quality to share," he paused to gaze at Luke, "and so do I."

Luke beamed at Reid feeling more loved than he ever had before.

It was at that moment that something inside of Lily shifted. She had never seen that look on Luke's face before and she had to admit that it was Reid Oliver who had put it there. _Perhaps Reid isn't so bad. Anyone who could make Luke beam like that had to be pretty special. Noah never made Luke look that happy. That relationship really is over and it looks like Reid is here to stay. _

"Yes," Lily smiled genuinely at Reid for the first time. "That is a very important quality to share."

When everyone began chatting comfortably again, Ethan once again pulled on Reid's shirt.

"Thanks," he whispered quietly. "My mom would kill me and my dad if she knew that he rolled his eyes at her."

"No problem," Reid replied with a smile.

After that the evening flowed easily. Luke was beaming and that made Reid happy.

Soon it was time to clear the table. Emma recruited Luke and Holden for that particular job.

"Reid will you please help me with the blow torch now?"

Everyone turned to stare at Emma and then Reid. Emma never let anyone near her food. This was a very special honour.

"Gee Mama; I can't believe that you're letting Reid use the blow torch. What's so special about him?" Holden teased, good naturedly.

"He's a neurosurgeon, I trust that he has steady hands," Emma replied.

"That I do!" Reid confirmed.

Reid and Emma returned to the kitchen once more where she quickly removed the crème brulee from the fridge and set them up on the counter.

"Have you used a blow torch before?" she asked carefully, suddenly feeling just a wee bit nervous.

"Yes," he nodded. "I've never used one on a dessert before, but I am confident that I can handle this."

"Okay," she replied, and quickly sprinkled the icing sugar over each of the custards.

"They are ready to be torched. Be careful not to burn the sugar, you just want to caramelize it."

Reid nodded and expertly manoeuvred the torch to finish the desserts.

"Perfect," Emma enthused when he was finished. "They need to sit for awhile. I'm just going to put the coffee on and then I'll set up the rest of the desserts. Can you ask everyone to retire to the living room for dessert and coffee?"

"Sure Emma," he leaned over and kissed her on her cheek. "Thanks for going to all of this trouble."

Emma blushed at his appreciation. "You're welcome," she replied with a warm smile.

Reid told everyone to settle in the living room.

Lily frowned at his bossiness, but nevertheless did as she was told.

Luke was thrilled to sit beside Reid on the couch.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked, his voice laced with concern.

"Yeah, I am," Reid replied leaning over and gently kissing Luke.

"Get a room," Faith suggested, her voice tinged with equal parts scorn and envy.

"Faith," Luke snapped at her.

"Um… do you think that you could come and look at my science project before Grandma brings out the dessert?" Natalie asked Reid shyly.

"You really don't have to help her if you don't want to," Luke whispered in Reid's ear.

Reid shook his head at Luke. "Let's go, Natalie," he said as he reluctantly got up from the couch.

Lily saw Reid's empty seat and came over to sit with Luke. "You really care about Reid, don't you?"

"Yes," Luke sighed heavily.

"He's really not like Noah at all," she mused aloud.

"I know, thank God! Reid is much better for me. I know that this is difficult for you, but you are going to have to accept my relationship with him."

"Yes, I can see that," she smiled at Luke. "I will make an effort with him, I promise. He's not really my cup of tea, but I can see that he makes you happy and that's what is most important to me."

"Really?" Luke asked cautiously.

"Yes really," Lily answered firmly. "I'm your mother and all I really want is for you to be happy. He seems to have won over everyone else, Emma really is quite besotted by him, you know."

"I know," Luke smiled. "I think that it goes both ways. If Grandma was a gay male, I'd be worried."

Just then Natalie and Reid returned. "Luke he really is a genius! He solved my problem instantly," she beamed.

Lily shook her head and got up from the sofa so that Reid could sit beside Luke.

Shortly after that, Emma asked Lily and Holden to help her serve the dessert. She made a special plate for Reid that had a sampling of all three.

Luke laughed as Reid smiled gratefully at Emma.

Soon dessert and coffee were finished, Faith put her younger siblings to bed, and Luke and Reid were able to make their escape.

Just as Emma was hugging Luke good bye she mentioned that it had been Noah that had come to the door. "I told him that I would have you call him, when you had time. I'm sure that it wasn't anything important," she stated pointedly.

"Why didn't you let him in?" Luke inquired curiously.

Emma shrugged, "this dinner was for family, and Noah isn't a part of that anymore."

"Thanks Grandma," he said and hugged her tightly one last time.

As Luke and Reid headed towards the car, Luke told Reid that it had been Noah who had come to the door.

"I know," Reid said with a smile.

"You know? How did you know?"

"I saw him through the window as he was leaving."

"Did he see you?"

"I don't know, he might have, he looked pretty pissed off as he stomped away from the house," Reid said smiling. "Does it matter if he saw me?"

"No," Luke shook his head. "I'm just surprised that my Grandma didn't let him in. I always thought that she liked him."

"I'm sure that she did, Luke, but she's always going to put you first, as she should."

"Well I'm sure that she likes you," Luke said nodding at the leftovers they were both carrying to the car. "In fact, I think that you won everyone over, including my mom. She finally seems to understand that I'm not going back to Noah. Thank God!"

"Who knew that I could be so charming?" Reid added, only half joking.

"I did," Luke said seriously.

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke lovingly. Luke moaned into the kiss and nearly dropped the food he was carrying.

Reid smiled as he broke the kiss. "Are you staying over?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, I have my overnight bag in the trunk," Luke replied.

"Excellent!"


	24. Chapter 24

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other characters: Noah and Katie.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters they all belong to ATWT. All mistakes are mine.

Rating: PG

"Hey," Reid whispered, gently shaking Luke awake.

"Grmphm" Luke moaned back, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep.

"You have to get up, Luke. We have the board meeting today, remember?"

"Ugh, can't I sleep for five more minutes?"

"No, I'm sorry, but I've let you sleep as long as possible. Now get up," Reid ordered. "I'll be in the shower, waiting for you."

Luke was awake now. _Why didn't he lead with that?_

Luke smiled and jumped out of bed to join Reid.

Forty five minutes later the boys emerged from Reid's room showered, dressed and happy.

"Good morning boys," Katie greeted the pair with a knowing smile on her face. "Is there any uh hot water left in the apartment?"

Luke blushed feeling a little bit guilty, but Reid just shrugged. "I doubt it," he commented. "Hey I don't suppose that you made any breakfast for us did you?" Reid asked hopefully.

"I bet you boys worked up quite an appetite last night and uh this morning," Katie said raising an eyebrow at them.

Luke blushed a pretty pink colour, suddenly feeling awkward, but not ashamed.

"Yes, we did," Reid confirmed with a sly grin.

"Reid!" Luke admonished. "I'm sorry if we made you uncomfortable," Luke said earnestly.

"Oh Luke, you didn't make me uncomfortable. I was just trying to tease Reid," Katie answered smiling at Luke. "A girl has to have some fun, you know."

Reid grabbed Luke's hand to reassure the younger man. "So Goldilocks is there any food for us?" Reid asked, the lack of food was starting to make him cranky.

"No, sorry I uh only made enough for me, and now I have to drop Jacob off at daycare before I head to the station. You boys are on your own."

"Thanks for nothing," Reid muttered to himself.

"Have a great day, Katie," Luke called after the blonde praying that she hadn't heard Reid's comments.

"Do you want to grab something at Java before we go to the board meeting?" Luke inquired.

Reid sighed, "Sure, I guess so. Speaking of Java have you spoken to Noah since he stopped by your house the other night?"

"No, I haven't called him yet. I guess I should huh," Luke said with a sigh. "Maybe we'll see him at Java and then I won't have to call him."

"Good luck with that, Luke," Reid mumbled before pulling Luke into one last passionate kiss before they headed off to their separate cars.

Luke arrived at Java first and decided to go in to place their order. As soon as he entered Noah came over to say hello. "Luke," Noah practically yelled in his excitement. "I haven't seen you in such a long time." He came over and reached out to hug Luke, but Luke managed to duck at just the right moment to avoid contact.

Noah squinted at Luke in confusion. "What's wrong with you? Can't you even give me a friendly hug?"

Luke just stared at Noah for a minute wondering just how to respond when he felt a warm, familiar arm drape itself around him. "Did you order our coffees yet?" Reid asked Luke while staring blankly at Noah.

"No sorry, I haven't even gotten in line yet," Luke shrugged.

Noah squinted at Reid and then at Luke. "What is going on, Luke? You won't even give me a hug, but you let **him**," he spluttered, with obvious distaste, "put his arm around you like he owns you?"

Luke stared at Noah momentarily left speechless.

"I don't own him, Mr. Mayer, Luke isn't a possession. I care about him and I want to make sure that he, and anyone else who might be interested, knows it," Reid stated pointedly.

"Luke, I'm worried about you. I really need to talk to you. I can take my break now and we can have coffee and really catch up," Noah suggested, doing his best to ignore Reid who was now openly glaring at him.

"No, Noah I can't have coffee with you. I'm with Reid now," Luke stated as plainly as he possibly could.

"So he won't let you spend anytime with me. That sure sounds like he's treating you like a possession," he sneered at Reid.

"Noah this isn't about Reid, I don't have time to talk to you. I have to go to a board meeting," Luke explained patiently.

"Do you think that you could get our drinks for us? We really do have to go, and you do still work here, right?" Reid asked sarcastically.

"We're having a private conversation," Noah whined at Reid.

"Noah, we really need to go," Luke countered impatiently.

"Luke, I need to talk to you, it's really important," Noah snivelled. "Please have dinner with me tomorrow night. We can go to Al's."

Reid snorted.

Noah squinted._ God what's wrong with him? He's so rude!_

Luke sighed tiredly. "All right," he answered looking at Reid, who just shrugged in response.

"Why are you looking at him?" Noah asked indignantly.

"Noah," Luke started warningly.

"Whatever," Noah capitulated. "I'll see you at Al's, tomorrow at 7:00, ok?"

"Fine," Luke responded, already dreading the dinner. "Now can you please get our drinks?"

"Yeah, I'll have them ready for you in a minute," Noah replied secretly grinning to himself.

"You don't mind if I have dinner with him tomorrow, do you?" Luke asked nervously.

"No Luke, like I said before you are not my possession, you are free to see whoever you want to." _I'm just not sure why you want to see Noah._

"It's not that I particularly want to see Noah, I just don't think that he's going to leave me alone until I hear whatever it is he has to say."

"Yeah, I can see that. He seems pretty eager to talk to you," Reid grumbled. "Do you want to come by Katie's when you're finished dinner?" Reid asked hoping he didn't sound as needy as he felt.

Luke noticed how uncomfortable Reid was and needed to reassure the other man so he leaned over and kissed Reid lovingly on the mouth. "Yes," he whispered gently against Reid's mouth.

"Can't you keep your hands off of him for five minutes?" Noah asked angrily, having brought them their drinks.

"No," Reid replied, without a trace of remorse, "and why in hell would I ever want to?"

Noah's jaw dropped as he saw, what could only be described, as a blissful look crossed Luke's face. _Why does he look happy? Doesn't he know that he should be saving those lips for me? I will have to remind of that tomorrow night at dinner!_

"Thanks for the coffees Noah, this should cover it," Luke noted handing Noah some money. With that he grabbed Reid's hand and they headed over to the hospital, leaving Noah staring at them in stunned disbelief.

End Notes:

Thanks to everyone who is sticking with this story! December is killing me!


	25. Chapter 25

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Chris, Ali, Bob, Lynne (Bob's secretary) random board members.

A/N: For purposes of this story, Lucinda is in Amsterdam with Dr. John Dixon and thus is not at the board meeting.

Summary: This is the story about the courtship of Reid and Luke.

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.

As Reid and Luke approached the hospital, Luke wondered if he should separate from Reid, after all they still didn't want Chris to know that they were together.

Luke dropped Reid's hand.

"What's up? Are you okay?" Reid asked, a look of concern etched into his handsome features.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Luke replied, clearly feeling uncomfortable.

Reid stopped walking and pulled Luke into a vacant exam room.

"Spill," he commanded. "What's wrong?"

Luke blushed, feeling ridiculous. "It's nothing," he stated firmly.

Reid just crooked an eyebrow at Luke in response, and waited for the blonde to continue.

Luke sighed, "We're at the hospital and I know that you wanted to keep our relationship a secret from Chris. I was just trying not to rock the boat," he finished with a shrug.

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke. "You're not doing anything wrong, Luke. I was just surprised when you stopped holding my hand. I forgot about stupid Doogie, but you're right, I do not want him to find out that we're together, but if he sees us he's probably going to figure it out. I don't want us to have to hide how we feel about each other, and to be honest, I don't think that I can."

Luke beamed at Reid. "I don't think that I can either," he answered feeling very relieved. "What should we do about Chris?"

"Well, Chris is still acting strangely around me, but he won't be at the board meeting. I need to go and check on one of my patients and also grab our notes for the meeting, so why don't you go ahead and I'll meet you there."

"Sure," Luke nodded in agreement. "Do you want me to save you a seat?"

"Yes," Reid replied and leaned in to kiss Luke one more time before heading off to his office.

Chris was lurking near Reid's office and was pleased to see that the neurosurgeon was alone. _He and Luke must have broken up, or they would be going to the meeting together. I'll have to check in with Lynne after the meeting to see how hostile they are to one another!_

Just then Chris's phone vibrated indicating that he had received a new text. He saw that the message was from Ali and quickly checked it.

Good news, Chris, Noah just called to tell me that he has a dinner date with Luke tonight!

"Yes!' Chris blurted out and then laughed to cover his embarrassment as he saw that a couple of nurses were looking at him strangely.

"I just received some excellent news regarding a critical patient," he explained to no one in particular.

The nurses simply nodded and whispered amongst themselves.

Chris then sent a quick text to Lynne asking her to meet him after the meeting. _She will be my eyes and ears in the meeting._

Reid noticed Chris texting with a evil grin on his face as Reid passed by on his way to the board meeting. _I wonder why Chris looks so happy. It makes me nervous._

Reid didn't have time for further contemplation as he headed off to the meeting. He knew that he was going to be late, and that Bob was not going to be happy with him. Reid sighed as he opened the door.

"Ah…Dr. Oliver so nice of you to join us," Bob greeted Reid sarcastically.

"Sorry, I was busy looking over a surgical patient's file to see how he had fared during the night."

"Is he okay?" Luke asked his eyes full of concern.

"Yes, it looks like he had a good night," Reid responded taking the seat that Luke had saved for him.

Reid reached his hand out and began gently rubbing Luke's thigh. Luke stifled a yelp of surprise and quickly put his hand on top of Reid's to stop the torment.

Reid looked at Luke and smiled mischievously and the two locked eyes until Bob cleared his throat to regain their attention.

"Reid, Luke do you have any input about the new wing for this meeting?" Bob inquired, a bemused look on his face.

Luke blushed, but Reid merely reached into the file that was sitting in front of him and handed out the notes that he and Luke had agreed on.

"Yes Bob, Luke and I have discussed what we feel are essential for the neurowing to be a success. In my report you will find the revised equipment needed as well as the adjusted costs that are required. Also Luke felt that it was essential to have suites for the families, while this will not enhance the surgeries themselves, he argued that keeping the family members as comfortable as possible will make the patients more relaxed, which may be medically beneficial. The cost of those suites is also included."

"Luke have you seen the revised figures?" Leland asked, shocked at the new figures.

"Yes, and I have talked to my board who have agreed to support Dr. Oliver's vision," Luke responded, smiling at Reid.

"Are you two still a couple?" Leland asked what all of the other board members (except for Luke) were wondering.

Luke blushed again as he turned to look at Reid. Reid smiled back at Luke. "Yes," they answered together.

"Well that's a relief," Jeffrey, a long standing board member, voiced aloud.

"Yes, indeed," Spencer, a rather uptight member, enthused.

"Is there any particular reason why you thought that they were no longer together?" Bob asked curiously surprised that they were so interested in Reid and Luke's private life and relieved that there didn't seem to be any hostility toward it..

Donna, the only attending female board member answered, "Why, your son, Christopher phoned me last week to talk about the chief of staff position, and mentioned that Reid was having a difficult time coping with his and Luke's recent break-up. He seemed very concerned about you, Dr. Oliver," she finished kindly.

"Christopher called you?" Bob asked, needing clarification as Luke and Reid exchanged a curious look.

"Yes," Donna answered, "I assumed that you had asked him to get in touch with me."

"No, I most certainly did not," Bob responded, clearly unnerved by this development. "Did he call all of you?" Bob asked as his eyes scanned the board members, who were all nodding in assent.

"Um, he didn't call me, in fact, I haven't spoken to Chris for a while," Luke stated.

"What was he calling about?" Bob inquired.

"Well," Donna began, "he wanted to talk about the chief of staff position. Honestly, I thought that he was calling on your behalf. He seemed quite concerned about Reid. He acknowledged his skill as a doctor, but seemed worried about his personal life and his people skills."

"I see," Bob nodded. "Is this the same tack he took with the rest of you?" The others nodded their heads.

"Did he indicate that he wanted to be considered as the next chief of staff?" Bob asked.

"Well," Jeffery responded. "He hinted that he would be an excellent choice, but I thought that he was joking. I mean Chris doesn't have the name that Reid has, or the skill set. No offense, Bob. I'm sure that he is a fine doctor."

"Was there anything else that Chris said that any of you found peculiar?" Bob inquired feeling shell shocked by the whole situation.

"He did seem very concerned about Reid's relationship with Luke. I suggested that they made a fine couple and that they would both be an asset to the hospital. Chris didn't seem to agree at all and immediately told me that they had broken up. I remember thinking it odd that we would disqualify Reid based on whom he was having a relationship with," Jim added.

"I see," Bob replied. "I must say that I am at a loss as to how to explain Christopher's behaviour. I can assure you that he was not acting on my account. I am afraid that Chris believes that he should be the next chief simply because he is my son. I have told him, in no uncertain terms, that he simply isn't qualified for this job. I can see that I will need to speak to him again.

"Luke and Reid, would you mind stepping out of the meeting. We will need to discuss the chief of staff position and it wouldn't be right to have you here for that part of the meeting."

"Certainly Bob," Reid said as he and Luke stood up.

"Thank you both for coming to this meeting. I will speak to you both soon," Bob said by way of a dismissal.

Once out in the hall, Luke turned to Reid. "Wow, that meeting took a very strange turn, didn't it."

"Yes," Reid nodded in agreement. "I knew that Doogie was upset about not getting this job, but I didn't realize the lengths he would go to try and get it. I don't like the fact that he keeps bringing you up. That worries me."

"Aww thanks for that," Luke smiled and kissed Reid on the cheek. "I'll look after myself, I promise."

"You'd better look after yourself," Reid warned. "Look I have to get back to work Are you coming over after your "date" with Noah?"

"Reid," Luke said in exasperation. "You know it is not a date, we're just having dinner as friends."

"Uh huh," Reid grumbled. "Does Noah know it's not a date?"

"Reid of course Noah knows it's not a date. He knows that we're together and he also knows that I would never cheat on you. I'm not that guy!" Luke said indignantly. "I'll come over to Katie's as soon as I'm finished, okay?"

"Okay," Reid replied, still feeling a little upset that Luke was going out for dinner with Noah.

Luke leaned over and kissed Reid warmly on the lips. "See you later!" Luke whispered before he left.

Meanwhile, Bob had reassured the board members that he felt that Reid was the best person to succeed him as chief at Memorial. He painstakingly listed all of Reid's accomplishments. The board seemed satisfied, many of them indicating that they had never questioned Reid's ability. When Bob felt reasonably certain that the board would vote for Reid at the following board meeting he adjourned them for the day.

After everyone had left, Bob looked up and saw that Lynne was looking at him uncertainly.

"Is there something bothering you, my dear?" Bob asked kindly.

"I think that I need to confess something to you," she replied.

"What is it?" Bob asked his tone kind but firm.

"I gave the list of board members to Chris a while ago. He came to your office and said that you were going to give him the list, and I offered to print one up for him in the interests of making things easier for you both."

"I see. Do you remember what time he came by?"

"Yes, it was lunchtime. You had just gone to the cafeteria when Chris appeared. I remember thinking that it was too bad that he hadn't arrived five minutes earlier."

_I bet he planned that! _They both thought angrily to themselves.

"Has Chris asked you to do anything else?" Bob asked.

"Well, he knows that I was coming to this board meeting and he texted me saying that he wants to meet with me after. I was flattered when I received the message, but now I suspect that what he wants from me is information. What should I do?"

"Meet with him, but be as vague as possible with the details. Do not tell him that the board members told me about his talking to them. Also please don't tell him that Reid and Luke are a couple. This seems to be a hot button for him, and I don't want it set off."

"Yes sir," she replied. "I will let you know how the conversation plays out after I meet with Chris."

"Thank you Lynne. Christopher is my son, and I love him, but I simply can't have him interfering with hospital business."

"I understand sir. I won't let you down."

"I know that you won't. Well I had better be getting back to my office," Bob stated as the two headed down the hall.

End Notes:

I will be cooking for the rest of today and tomorrow! I have already burnt my hands twice ugh! I wish that Emma were here to help me!

I hope that all of you have a wonderful day tomorrow.

Happy Holidays!


	26. Chapter 26

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Noah and Henry

Summary: This is the story about the courtship of Luke and Reid

Rating: NC 17 for language and sexual content (don't be afraid)

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All belong to ATWT and its parent company(ies). All mistakes are mine.

Noah arrived at Al's at exactly 7:00 and was irritated to find that Luke was not there waiting for him. _Where the hell is he? We agreed on 7:00 and I expected him to be here at 6:45 waiting for me. _

"Hi Noah are you meeting someone here?" Henry inquired, noting the squinty look on Noah's face.

"I was supposed to meet Luke here at 7:00, but I see he's not here," Noah grumbled.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon, it's only 7:01," Henry noted shaking his head. "Is Reid coming with him?"

"God no," Noah replied a look of absolute horror marring his handsome face. "Luke and I are trying to reconnect as a couple, the last thing we need is that bloody interloper, Reid Oliver trying to interfere."

"I see," Henry responded wondering if Luke was aware that he was reconnecting with Noah. "Well have a seat. Would you like something to drink while you wait?"

"Sure," Noah answered feeling heroic for trying to make the best of things. "I'll have a soda."

"One soda coming right up," Henry stated as he handed a menu to Noah and placed another one on the other side of the table.

Just then Luke walked in and saw Noah sitting at a table. Luke walked over and sat down to join the other man.

"Hi Noah,"

"Hi Luke," Noah returned looking pointedly at his watch.

"Am I late?" Luke inquired. "I thought that we had said 7:00."

"We did," Noah confirmed. "It's 7:03. I thought that you would be here no later than 6:45." Noah finished reproachfully.

"Oh," Luke replied feeling confused, "were you here then?"

"No, of course not, I arrived right at 7:00," Noah responded.

_Oh brother, was Noah always this petty? I guess that I did always arrive early, because when we were dating I was always excited to see him. Still he shouldn't have taken me for granted. Especially now that we are no longer together, well that's one more reason why we aren't right for each other._

"So Noah, what did you want to talk to me about," Luke asked wanting to change the subject and hurry this dinner along.

Henry arrived at that moment to drop off Noah's soda and one for Luke as well.

"Thanks Henry," Luke smiled at the older man.

"No problem, Luke. Are you two ready to order?"

"Yes," Luke replied.

"No," Noah responded at exactly the same time.

Luke and Henry stared at Noah wondering what his problem was.

"I need a moment to look things over," he replied defensively squinting at the menu.

Luke sighed. "Please give us a moment."

"No problem, I'll be right back."

As soon as Henry left, Noah put down his menu.

"Have you decided what you want for dinner?" Luke asked with a sigh.

"Yes, I'm going to have my usual," Noah stated. "I wanted to talk to you before we ordered."

"Okay," Luke agreed, sighing heavily, "but can we please order soon, I'm starving." _I want to get out of here and see Reid before it gets too late._

Noah squinted at Luke. "What's your hurry? I thought that you wanted to have dinner with me," Noah pouted.

"I'm happy to be here with you Noah," Luke lied, "but I'm really hungry."

"Okay, we can order when Henry comes back," Noah acquiesced. "Now, first of all I wanted to ask you if your Grandma Emma is alright."

"Grandma Emma?" Luke asked shock clearly evident in his voice. "She's fine, Noah. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I stopped by the house the other day to talk to you, and she wouldn't let me in," Noah explained, still incredulous at Emma's treatment of him.

"We were having a family dinner," Luke explained quietly.

"Yes, I know. That's what she said, but she wouldn't let me in," Noah repeated, his voice full of indignation.

"Well, Noah, she knows that we're not together anymore and so she no longer considers you family."

Noah squinted at Luke in disbelief. "She doesn't think of me as part of the family anymore? Are you sure? Did Reid insist that your family disown me?" Noah asked his voice rising with each question. "Oh my God, Luke can't you see that he's manipulating you and your whole family? This is worse than I thought. I mean it's one thing for you to have a meaningless fling with him, I could forgive that, but his turning your family against me? Well that's just unconscionable."

Henry rushed over. "Is everything alright over here?" he asked looking at Luke to make sure that he was okay.

"Um yes Henry, sorry about the scene," Luke responded looking pointedly at Noah. "We're ready to order. I'm going to have the chilli and a side order of cornbread, while Noah is going to have a double cheeseburger with fries, well done."

"I'll get right on it," Henry replied rushing off to the kitchen to put their order in.

"Noah, listen to me, are you listening?" Noah nodded. "Reid is not turning anyone against you, and neither am I. My family loves you, I love you, but not in the same way that we did before. You are no longer part of my family, because you chose not to be with me. Reid had nothing to do with that decision. He would never ask my family to cut you out of their lives. He's not that kind of man. As far as I know, Grandma Emma just thought it would be better for everyone," Luke paused meaningfully, "if we talked at a different time, rather than in the middle of a family dinner. Reid was there for the first time and my family was just getting to know him."

"What?" Noah asked clearly shocked by this revelation. "I thought that I had seen Reid, but then I concluded that I must have been mistaken. How could Emma let Reid in and not me? That's inconceivable."

"Noah, haven't you been listening? Reid is my boyfriend; you know what that means to me and to my family. Of course she would include him." Luke stated wondering if any of this was sinking in to Noah's brain. "By the way, Grandma Emma loves Reid, because he loves her food. They have truly bonded," Luke commented with a dreamy smile on his face.

"Luke, snap out of it. Reid has you under his spell and you need to realize that he just isn't good for you. You need to remember how great we were together. Luke we belong together, surely you know that."

"Noah, we're not good for each other. I want you to be happy and I know that you won't be with me. We just don't fit well together. You need someone who is more independent than I am. Someone who truly appreciates everything about you," Luke said gently.

"You appreciated me. I know that you did. You were always supportive of me. Yes, sometimes you smothered me, but I'm sure that you are capable of doing better. I will just have to tell you whenever I feel that you are suffocating me, and then we'll be fine," Noah responded with a smug smile.

"Noah, you need to find someone that you don't have to change. That's why we're not right for each other. I'm not saying this to hurt you; I'm saying it because it's the truth."

"Are you saying that Reid hasn't tried to change you?" Noah asked his voice thick with disbelief. "You have changed, Luke, and not for the better, I might add."

"I'm sorry that you feel that way," Luke sighed.

Henry chose that moment to bring them their food. Luke was relieved to have the distraction.

"Thanks Henry," Luke said sincerely.

"Do you need anything else?" Henry asked.

"I could use a refill of soda, please," Luke replied.

"Me too," Noah grunted.

Once Henry had gone, Noah looked over at Luke quizzically. He didn't really want to tell Luke what Reid had said to him on that fateful day in Reid's office, but he felt that he had no other choice.

"Luke, I don't really know how to say this, but I feel that it's something that you need to know. I think that this will change your opinion of Reid and shed some light onto his true character."

"Noah, I really have no interest in hearing you criticize Reid. I know who he is. Nothing you say is going to change my opinion of him."

"Please Luke; I really think that you need to hear this."

Henry returned with their drinks and wanted to hear whatever Noah had to say about Reid, so he lingered close by.

"At my last appointment with Reid, he asked me if I had any questions and I said that I did. I wanted to know when he started to have feelings for you, and do you know what he said?"

Luke shook his head in response, but he was dying to hear the answer to that question.

"He said that it was the second or third time that he laid eyes on you," Noah said triumphantly, squinting at Luke for emphasis.

"Wow," Henry uttered, unable to stop himself.

"Wow," Luke gasped overcome with emotion.

Noah smiled smugly at Luke, completely misreading Luke's reaction.

"Don't you see what this means, Luke? He liked you right from the beginning, that's why he made me break up with you."

"What are you talking about? Reid never asked you to break up with me, he simply asked you to keep me away from him. He wanted to focus on you, to give you the best care that he possible could. If he was attracted to me then it makes sense that I would have been a distraction," Luke concluded. "He really is the most amazing doctor on the planet," Luke finished with a dreamy look on his face.

"No, no, no, no," Noah interrupted. "He's not amazing, he's manipulative. He took advantage of both of us. He knew that you were vulnerable after our break-up and took advantage of you. Don't you see that?"

"Noah, you have to stop rewriting history, our history. He didn't take advantage of me at all. He didn't make a move on me until after you went on your date with Richard. We both saw you two at Al's and I think that maybe that date gave Reid permission to kiss me."

"What?" Noah spluttered out. "I told you that wasn't a date. We were just two guys getting together."

"On a date," Luke insisted. "You can deny it all you like, but I saw you two together that night and your body language was screaming date, date, date!"

"What was a date?" a familiar voice asked.

"Reid," Luke breathed, his face wreathed in smiles. "What are you doing here? Sit down." Luke invited patting the seat beside him. "Are you hungry?"

Reid cocked an eyebrow at Luke, who grinned in response. "Of course I'm hungry," he replied just before kissing Luke possessively on the lips.

Reid had been sitting in his office, stewing about Luke's dinner with Noah. He knew that he shouldn't barge in on them, but he couldn't help himself. He was jealous. He didn't like the idea of Luke being alone with Noah at all. So against his better judgement he found himself at Al's. The first thing he heard was Luke talking about a date, and he didn't like it at all. He was relieved when Luke smiled at him with his warm Lukian smile that always made him feel so damn happy. The fact that Noah looked distinctly annoyed to see Reid just emphasized that he had made the correct decision to join them.

"What the hell are you doing here, Oliver?" Noah snarled at Reid.

"I came here for dinner," Reid answered calmly. "This is one of my favourite restaurants and Luke is one of my favourite people, so it was a no brainer for me!"

"This is a private dinner, why don't you go and sit by yourself," Noah recommended through gritted teeth.

"Noah," Luke warned, narrowing his eyebrows. "If Reid moves to a different table, I'm going with him."

"Luke," Noah whined. "This was supposed to be our time."

"What are you talking about? You wanted to talk to me and you have, is there anything else?"

"Anything else?" Noah gaped at Luke. "I want us to get back together, and you haven't agreed to that yet."

"Noah," Luke responded as patiently as he could. "Reid is my boyfriend; you and I are not getting back together. Not now and not ever."

Reid just grinned happily.

Luke looked exasperated.

Noah just gaped at Reid and Luke, unable to accept the truth.

Henry, who had watched Reid's arrival with great interest, smiled and shook his head gleefully. He had never really forgiven Noah for the way that Noah had treated his baby sister, Maddie! Reid might not be his favourite person, but he had seen how caring Reid had been toward Luke and he knew that Luke deserved that.

Reid looked meaningfully at Luke and excused himself to use the restroom.

Two minutes later, Luke got up to join him.

Noah sat at the table wondering where it all went wrong, trying to figure out how to win Luke back.

"Reid," Luke whispered as he knocked quietly on the bathroom door.

Reid opened the door, welcoming Luke in with a wicked grin on his face.

Luke hurried in and quickly locked the door behind him.

Reid immediately covered Luke's mouth with his own and began kissing Luke in earnest.

While kissing Luke he began undoing the younger man's clothes, first his shirt and then his pants. He tried to be gentle, not wanting to hurt Luke, but he was too turned on.

Luke moaned deeply into Reid's mouth. Luke followed suit and quickly removed Reid's clothing needing to be as close to the other man as possible.

Reid made that noise in the back of his throat the second that Luke's hand wrapped itself around his penis. Reid jerked involuntarily needing to be closer to Luke.

Luke smiled against Reid's mouth, never breaking the kiss and moved his hips closer to Reid. Reid moaned as Luke thrust his rock hard cock against Reid's. Luke released Reid's dick, only for a second, so that he could grab his own and rub them together. Reid's hands immediately grasped Luke's ass to bring their bodies closer together. Reid took his right hand and rubbed two of his fingers in the pre cum that was leaking from both of their aching cocks. Luke groaned in anticipation of what Reid was planning to do with those fingers. Reid smiled knowing that he was about to pleasure Luke.

Once his fingers were coated, Reid quickly inserted them into Luke's throbbing hole.

"Fuck!" Luke muttered against Reid's mouth willing himself to hold on a little bit longer.

Luke reached down with his other hand and grabbed Reid's balls. Massaging them in the way that he knew Reid liked best.

Reid finally broke the kiss and bit down on Luke's neck, hard as he came shooting ropes of come onto Luke's torso. Reid knew that he was marking Luke. He needed to. He wanted to leave no doubt in Noah's mind, as to whom Luke belonged.

Luke knew that Reid was marking him, and that knowledge propelled him into a mind blowing orgasm. The knowledge that Reid wanted people, especially Noah, to know that Luke was his, turned Luke on like nothing else.

Reid held Luke as he felt the other man's orgasm rip through Luke's body. He loved knowing that he could give Luke so much pleasure.

As they stood there grinning at each other, both covered in come, Luke sighed happily. "We probably shouldn't have done that, but God I'm glad that we did," he whispered sheepishly.

"Me too," Reid replied seriously. "I love you, Luke."

"I love you too," Luke responded, before kissing Reid lovingly on the lips. "I think that we had better clean ourselves up, before we head back out there. Your dinner is probably waiting for you and I know how particular you are about your food," Luke teased.

"This was more important than food," Reid stated honestly.

Luke just smiled as he began to clean Reid's chest.

Meanwhile, Noah was starting to get worried. "Henry, do you think that we should check on Luke? He's been gone a really long time. Do you think that he's okay?"

Henry just stared at Noah blankly. "I'm sure that they're fine," he replied.

"They? What do you mean by they?"

_Oh my God! Is Noah really that thick? Oh well someone's got to tell him and I guess that it's going to be me._

"Luke and Reid are in the bathroom together," Henry said meaningfully.

"What?" Noah asked feeling shocked. "Do you think that they're fooling around in there?"

"Uh…yes," Henry stated, relieved that he wasn't going to have to go into more detail.

"No way," Noah stated emphatically. "Luke would never do that to me. We're here together. Reid is just getting in our way."

_Oh dear Lord! He really is obtuse!_

"Oh look, Noah, they're back," Henry announced, relieved that Noah would not be insisting that they go charging into the men's room. Henry noticed the enormous hickey developing on Luke's neck and wondered how Noah was going to respond to that.

"Are you okay?" Noah asked Luke, his voice full of concern.

Reid smirked.

"Yes Noah, I'm fine," Luke replied feeling annoyed.

"Thank God, you were gone a long time and I was worried about you."

Reid smirked again.

"Wha...what's that on your neck?" Noah asked, finally noticing the rather large hickey adorning Luke's neck.

"I think that's the hickey that I just gave him," Reid responded blandly.

Noah squinted at Luke and Reid, waiting for some kind of explanation that would erase the images that were playing in Noah's mind. _Oh my God, was Henry right? Did they just have sex in the bathroom? How could Luke do that to me? Oh my God, I have to go. I can't take this!_

"I don't know what just happened," Noah paused and Reid opened his mouth to speak, but Noah put up a hand to stop him. "No, I don't want to hear it Reid. Luke, we'll talk another time," he finished firmly. "Alone!" With that he picked up his jacket, threw some money on the table and stomped out of Al's.

"Are you okay?" Reid asked Luke carefully.

Luke smiled winningly at Reid. "Never better," he answered. "Now let's see if we can find out what has happened to your food. You must be really hungry by now," Luke said with a sly grin.

Reid chuckled as Henry brought over his food. "I kept this warm while you were uh… indisposed," Henry said with a wink.

"Thanks Hank!" Reid replied and tucked into his food.


	27. Chapter 27

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Katie and Jacob

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid. This is definitely AU. Reid doesn't die and Chris and Katie aren't a couple.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They all belong to ATWT and its parent company(ies). All mistakes are mine.

Rating PG

A/N I wanted to wish everyone a healthy and happy New Year!

A few nights later, Reid and Luke were relaxing on Katie's couch, just watching crap TV and eating junk food. Reid was in heaven.

"So has Bob confirmed that you will be the next Chief of Staff?" Luke prodded.

"No," Reid sighed, already bored with this conversation.

"Well it has to be you, doesn't it?"

Reid shrugged. "I think that it's going to be me, but if it's not, then it's not and I'll deal with it. We'll know one way or the other on Saturday night," Reid frowned.

"What?" Luke asked, noting how unhappy Reid seemed to be. "I'll still love you even if you remain just a lowly neurosurgeon," Luke teased gently.

"I will never, ever be a lowly neurosurgeon," Reid intoned seriously. "I just wish that I knew one way or the other. I care about Bob, I guess, but I hate getting dressed up and going to social events and if I'm not the next chief then I'd rather just work at the hospital."

"You can't be serious! Bob has acted like a mentor to you. You have to go, Reid. Not showing up would be horribly disrespectful."

Reid just grunted in response.

"Oh, and by the way, you have to wear the new tux that I had custom made for you. I put it in your closet earlier today. You should probably try it on just to make sure that you don't need any last minute alterations."

"What are you talking about, Luke?" Reid asked, clearly flabbergasted.

Luke just stared back at Reid hoping that he wouldn't be to mad at Luke for taking such liberties..

"Let me get this straight, you had a tuxedo custom made for me that is now hanging in my closet?"

"Yes," Luke answered simply. "I knew that you didn't have one, I figured that this was the easiest solution," Luke shrugged as Reid continued to stare at him. "The dress for Bob's retirement dinner is formal. Didn't you read your invitation?"

"Yes, I read my invitation," Reid huffed. "I figured that I could just wear my grey suit. This is Oakdale for God's sake, how formal do you people get?"

Luke just raised an eyebrow in response.

"Never mind," Reid grumbled. "I'll try it on later," he reluctantly stated, not willing to capitulate completely.

Luke just beamed in response and leaned over and kissed Reid.

"Fine, fine," Reid huffed out. "I'll go and put it on now." Reid said and stood up to walk to his room.

Reid went to his room and found the tux in a garment bag that had been labelled with his name. Reid just shook his head. He carefully opened the bag and took out the beautiful suit with accompanying shirt and black boxers. _Seriously, there are people that handmake boxers? _He put those on first, naturally. _Oh my God, these feel incredible. I had no idea that underwear could feel this amazing. _He dutifully put on the shirt and found that it too was incredibly comfortable. Next he pulled on the pants and then the jacket and found that naturally it all fit perfectly. Reid looked in the mirror and noted that he looked incredibly handsome. . He worried momentarily that he didn't have the right shoes for this outfit, but then he glanced again at his closet and noticed a box with his name on it. He reached in and grabbed it. Inside were the most beautiful shoes that he had ever seen. Of course there was also a pair of socks in the box with them. Rolling his eyes for only a second he quickly put on his new socks and shoes. They fit perfectly, better really than any of the shoes that he owned. The leather was soft and pliable; clearly Luke hadn't just picked these up at PaylessTM. _Oh my God, these shoes were _probably_ hand made too. How does he do that? He is the most amazing partner ever! Partner?_ Reid shrugged the reference off and headed out for Luke's inspection. Hoping that the younger man would like what he saw.

Luke gaped at the vision that was Reid Oliver as he entered the living room.

"Wow!" Luke said with a broad smile. "You look amazing!"

"Yeah I do, don't I?" Reid smiled smugly in return. "I noticed that there was a tie in the bag too. I'm counting on you to tie it on the night, okay? We don't need to practice that too, do we?"

"Yes I will tie your tie for you, and no we don't need to practice that tonight."

Luke stood up and walked over to Reid, staring at him for just a moment before he leaned in and kissed Reid firmly on the lips

"Hey, don't rumple the clothes," Reid admonished with a huge grin on his face when he finally broke the kiss.

"Maybe you should take them off, if you're so worried about them," Luke suggested with a raised eyebrow.

"Whatever do you have in mind, Mr. Snyder? Do you think that just because you have bought me the most beautiful clothes that I have ever seen, not to mention the gorgeous shoes, that I owe you something?" Reid asked coyly, already removing his jacket and starting to unbutton his shirt.

"Yes, you totally owe me," replied Luke, quickly getting into character.

Reid smiled enigmatically and slowly finished unbuttoning his shirt. He was on the last button when the door flew open and Katie and Jacob blew into the room.

"Oh Reid, thank God you're here," Katie started breathlessly. "I need a huge favour from you. Oh hi Luke," she added as an afterthought, suddenly aware that perhaps she had interrupted something.

Reid wanted to glare at her, but he noticed the harried look on her face and instantly softened.

"Okay, give me a second to change and then you can ask me for that favour," Reid grumbled as he headed back to his bedroom, sadly alone.

"Sorry for interrupting you guys," Katie apologized to Luke, feeling a little bit embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it, Katie. This is your home you have nothing to apologize for."

_Thank God she came in then and not a few minutes later. Maybe it's time for me to start thinking about getting my own place. _

"Why was Reid so dressed up?" Katie asked.

"He was just trying on his tuxedo for Bob's retirement dinner," Luke answered.

"Oh," Katie answered, feeling both uncomfortable and relieved. "So he's definitely going to it, right?"

"Yes," Luke replied firmly, wondering why Katie was so interested in this.

Just then Jacob started crying and Katie turned her attention back to her son. She quickly got him out of his jacket and mittens and hat and hung them up on their hooks.

Jacob was happier to be free of all of his outer garments but he still wasn't satisfied.

Katie gave him a cookie to nibble on, while she heated up a bottle for him. Katie had just gotten Jacob settled on her lap when Reid appeared, dressed in a pair of scrub pants and an old Harvard T shirt.

"So what's the favour you desperately need me to fulfill?" Reid asked as he sat down in the middle of the couch between Luke and Katie.

"Um… I need you to be my date," she said in a rush.

"Katie you do know that I'm gay, right?" Reid asked feeling perplexed and grasping Luke's hand for reassurance.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Of course I know that you're gay. I don't need you to date me; I need you to be my escort at Bob's retirement dinner."

"Why?" Reid asked wondering why Katie couldn't get a real date.

"Well, uh… Chris bumped into Jacob and me in Old Town a little while ago and asked me to be his date at that function. I said no, obviously," Katie stated wrinkling her nose in disgust. "But he wanted to know why. I panicked and said that you had already asked me to be your date, and that I couldn't possibly turn you down, seeing as you are my roommate and all."

"You couldn't just say 'No I don't like you and thought of you sitting beside me for an entire evening makes me want to hurl?'" Reid chuckled.

"Reid!" the two blondes admonished him at once.

"What, it's the truth isn't it?"

"Yes, but I could never say that to anyone, not even Chris," Katie murmured.

"It would save you a lot of trouble in the future if you did," Reid sighed.

"So will you take me? I mean I'm sure that you were planning on going with Luke and I don't want to interfere with that at all. I just need you to let me sit at your table, preferably beside you two."

"That's no problem, Katie. Maddie was going to come but she has a huge paper due and can't afford the time away from school, so you can easily have her spot," Luke answered for Reid.

Reid glared at Luke; he had wanted to torture Katie a little bit longer as punishment for interrupting them earlier.

Reid turned to Katie and smiled at her, letting her know that he was fine with this arrangement.

"Hey, doesn't that technically make her Casey's date?" Reid smirked.

"Yeah, I guess so, but we can just keep that to ourselves," Luke answered giving Reid a meaningful look.

Katie smiled her thanks at Luke.

"How did Doogie take the news that I was your date?" Reid asked.

"It was kind of weird; he actually seemed pleased about it. I was going to add that Luke would be going with us, but something in his expression stopped me. He didn't even ask about Luke," she finished with a shrug.

Luke and Reid exchanged a meaningful glance.

"Doogie thinks that Luke and I broke up. He seems to have some weird fixation with us as a couple. He probably took my taking you as confirmation that Luke and I aren't together."

"Why would he care if you two are dating or not? I mean he's not gay, so what difference does it make to him?"

Reid sighed. "I don't know, but I get the feeling that he has become obsessed with me. We went to med school together, and it seems like he has been holding a grudge against me ever since. He really doesn't want me to be chief of staff at Memorial, and for some reason he believes that if I am not with Luke then I won't get the job."

"Why would he think that? Is it because Luke's on the board?"

"No, Luke doesn't even get a vote because of his relationship with me; even if we broke up he wouldn't get a vote."

"Does he think that Luke is trying to influence the other board members in your favour?" Katie asked. "Are you?" she queried looking at Luke.

"No, of course not," Luke replied somewhat indignantly of both of their behalves. "I haven't spoken to any of the board members about Reid. He doesn't need me to and I wouldn't feel comfortable lobbying for him. I mean I know that he will do an amazing job, but I am too close to the situation to be objective."

Katie smiled at Luke. "It's puzzling that Chris sees you as such a threat, perhaps you should take it as a compliment."

Reid glowered at Katie. "Doogie is an idiot, and I just want him to leave us alone. If I do become the next chief, I will be looking for a way to fire him."

"Reid, you need to be fair to Chris. I know that he is behaving in a bizarre manner, but he is still a good doctor and he's Bob's son," Luke gently chastised.

"I know that he's Bob's son and I will be careful but I don't like the way that he's been acting, and what's more I don't trust him. I can't have someone working for me that I don't trust," Reid stated emphatically.

"Is there anything specific that he has done to you?" Katie inquired, her curiosity truly peaked.

"Doogie went to the board members, behind Bob's back and told them that he was concerned about my ability to run Memorial. He didn't officially tell them that he would like to be considered for the job, but it's pretty obvious that he feels entitled to it. He also talked about my emotional instability due to my recent break up with Luke."

"Oh my God, I had no idea that Chris would stoop so low. No wonder he was pleased when I told him that I was your date. He's not sitting at our table is he?"

"No," Luke answered. "His table is across the room from ours."

Reid and Katie both stared at Luke. "What?" Luke asked feeling uncomfortable. "Bob phoned and asked my advice about the seating chart and so I spent a couple of hours sorting things out for him."

"Of course you did," Reid said leaning over and kissing Luke.

"Well, that's my cue to head off to bed," Katie said adjusting Jacob, who had long since fallen asleep, so as not to wake him up.

"Good night Katie," Luke and Reid replied in unison.

"Hey," Reid started, looking at Luke carefully. "You don't mind that Katie is crashing our date, do you?"

"No," Luke shook his head decisively, "of course not. I'm happy that we can help her out. Just as long as you remember who your real date is."

"I could never forget," Reid replied leaning in and kissing Luke again.

"Maybe we should move this into the bedroom; I don't really fancy Katie walking in on us again."

Reid chuckled and immediately stood up and reached for Luke's hand. "Come on," he said impatiently. "Hey Luke," Reid whispered into Luke's ear as they headed for his room.

"Yeah," Luke whispered back.

"Thank you," Reid said stopping to stare into Luke's eyes just after they had entered his room and closed the door.

"What for?" Luke asked, puzzled by Reid's serious tone.

_For everything for being you. God I'm not sure I deserve you, but I'm never going to give you up. _"For looking after me, ordering the beautiful tuxedo and the amazing shoes that go with it. I don't know how you managed it, but I am actually looking forward to wearing that get up."

Luke leaned in and kissed Reid warmly on the lips. "You're welcome, Reid. It was really nothing. I'm happy that you like them." _God, Noah would have thrown a fit if I had done that for him. He would have found fault with everything and blamed me for it all. _

"Luke, it wasn't nothing it's something pretty amazing that you have done for me. I would have shown up in my suit and felt like an idiot," he paused gazing into Luke's eyes trying to ascertain whether or not he was getting through to the blonde. "Now get undressed so that I can 'thank' you properly."

Luke giggled and did as he was told!


	28. Chapter 28

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Henry, Katie, Chris, Ali, and Bob

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Reid and Luke.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters all belong to ATWT and its parent company(ies). No profit is garnered from this work and no infringement is intended.

All mistakes are mine.

Warning! Chris is only in the last paragraph but he's happy…for now . *hides*

Rating PG

Friday night Luke and Reid were having dinner together at Al's. They were both eating bacon double cheeseburgers and fries, well done, with chocolate milkshakes to drink.

"Wow, I'm not sure how I'm going to finish all of this food," Luke lamented, wishing he had ordered water instead of the milkshake.

"Not to worry, I'll eat whatever you leave behind," Reid assured the blonde whilst inhaling half of his burger. "Do you want to split an order of onion rings?"

Luke just chuckled and shook his head, while Reid tried in vain to attract Henry's attention.

"Hey Hank," Reid called out after he had swallowed most of the food in his mouth. "We need an order of onion rings over here." Reid had said "we" because he knew that no one could ever refuse Luke anything.

Henry grumbled that he had other customers to look after, but nodded in acknowledgement and put in the order.

"So how is your speech coming?" Luke asked conversationally.

"What are you talking about?" Reid asked, clearly mystified. "Why would I be writing a speech?"

"You're kidding, right?" Luke responded. When he saw that Reid really had no idea what he was talking about, Luke just shook his head. "For tomorrow night," he began calmly. "If you are named Chief of Staff, you are going to have to get up and say something."

"You have got to be kidding me! I hate public speaking! Oh my God, I'm going to stand up and babble in front of all of Oakdale," Reid muttered. "Maybe I won't be named," he added hopefully.

"Reid," Luke admonished. "I will help you write a speech so that you have something coherent to say, okay?"

"Really?" Reid asked, with a look of equal parts hope and gratitude.

"Yes of course I'll help you, but we had better finish up here so that we can go to my place to work on it."

Reid nodded as Henry placed the onion rings in front of him.

"Can you pack these up to go?" Reid asked, "and bring us the bill when you come back."

"I have other customer's, you know?" Henry grumbled.

"Sorry Henry, but we're in more of a hurry than we realized," Luke interjected.

Henry smirked, knowingly.

Luke blushed.

"I wish," Reid muttered, mostly to himself.

By the time that Henry returned with Reid's onion rings and their bill, Reid had managed to finish all of his food as well as what Luke was unable to consume.

Luke paid the bill as Reid gathered up his onion rings and the two men left Al's and headed over to Lily's.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Reid asked, still a little bit nervous about running into Lily.

"Relax," Luke replied with a smile. "My mom had to go to Chicago for the day on business. She texted me earlier to tell me that she was staying overnight there."

"What about your siblings?" Reid asked hoping that they too would be away.

"They're staying with Grandma Emma for the whole weekend, because of Bob's retirement dinner."

"Oh," Reid answered with a touch of envy detectable in his voice. _They get three days of Emma's cooking, the lucky bastards!_

Luke laughed out loud. "Grandma brought over some muffins for me this morning, and lucky for you, I don't mind sharing."

"What kind of muffins?" Reid asked, already starting to salivate.

"I'm not sure, she sent over an assortment, blueberry, cranberry and banana I think," Luke hedged.

"Wow, they all sound good," Reid replied a dreamy look on his face. _Luke, muffins and an empty house, things are definitely looking up. _

"Uh huh," Luke replied as he parked the car. "Come on Reid, we'd better go inside and start on your speech."

Reid groaned out loud. "Are you sure that I need a speech? I mean no one is really going to want to hear me talk anyways. Maybe Bob will just announce my name and then everyone will just go back to eating," Reid suggested, happily eating the onion rings out of the bag.

"Reid," Luke said sternly. "You are going to have to say something when Bob calls your name. He will be calling you up to the dais and you can't just nod your head, turn around and sit back down. It wouldn't be right."

_How does he do that? That's exactly what I would do. _"Well I would shake Bob's hand while I was nodding and I would thank him before sitting down, isn't that enough?"

"No," Luke stated firmly. "You really need me, don't you?" Luke teased.

"Yes I really do," Reid answered seriously.

Luke kissed Reid then, he couldn't help it.

Reid kissed him back, fervently. He was trying to distract Luke so that they could do something more interesting than working on a stupid speech!

Luke broke the kiss, reluctantly.

"Reid, you know we need to work on this, otherwise you're going to regret it, and I'm going to feel terribly guilty."

"I would never regret having sex with you, ever," Reid stated emphatically, "but I don't want you to feel guilty," he finished with a heavy sigh.

"Okay," Luke said, powering up his laptop. "Let's get started. What do you want to say?"

"Nothing," Reid grumbled. "I have no idea what to say. Should I talk about the brain? Should I talk about how great a surgeon I am? Should I talk about how incompetent most of the staff at Memorial is? Should I tell them how lucky they are to have me steering this ship to new heights?" Reid asked and then paused when he saw the look of horror marring Luke's beautiful face. "Oh my God I can't say any of that can I? What am I going to say? What am I going to do? The bloody thing is tomorrow. Oh my God I feel sick," Reid babbled on and on as sweat began to pour off of his body.

Mercifully, Luke began to type.

"Wait, what are you typing?" Reid asked anxiously.

"Breathe, Reid, just breathe. I'm just typing out a few words for you to say to the good people of Oakdale. Something polite, but not too generic that will appease everyone, and that you should be able to get through without having the urge to vomit," Luke reassured the other man. "Why don't you go into the kitchen and find yourself some of Emma's muffins?"

"Muffins," he muttered to himself, reassuringly. When Reid returned to the living room he had a plate with six muffins on it. Luke had been right about the varieties and Reid had taken two of each, not wanting to play favourites. He sat down on the couch and nestled into one of the cushions as he began to inhale the delicious muffins. The carbs worked their special magic and Reid began to relax. When he had finished the muffins he placed the empty plate on the coffee table and then picked up the cushion he had been resting against and hugged it to his chest.

"How's it going?" he ventured, after awhile. _God I feel completely useless. Why am I so useless? Has Luke figured out how inept I am? Christ, I'm a genius, I should be able to figure this stuff out for myself._

"I'm done," Luke announced, interrupting Reid's inner thoughts. "Do you think that you can release the cushion, Reid? It looks like it's about to burst," Luke said with a slightly amused look on his face.

"Uh yeah," Reid answered, putting the cushion beside him. _Look at how articulate I am! God I need help!_

Luke plopped down on the sofa beside Reid and let the other man read what he had written.

Reid perused it for a few minutes, while Luke held his breath, hoping that the other man would be pleased.

"Wow, Luke, this is brilliant," Reid enthused.

"I'm sure it's not that great, but I think that it will do," Luke smiled at Reid feeling relieved that Reid had approved.

"Seriously Luke, this is fantastic," Reid stated, staring directly into Luke's eyes. "I would never have come up with this on my own. You have managed to write something succinct and touching without being overly tripe. Have you ever thought about writing professionally?"

Luke blushed a deep shade of pink. "I always wanted to be a writer, but when I got kicked out school, I kind of lost my way and then I started the foundation and took over Grimaldi shipping. I haven't really thought about writing in years."

"Well, you should think about it if it's something that you are passionate about."

"I'll think about it," Luke agreed, feeling incredibly valued in a way that he really never had before.

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke soundly on the mouth. As he began undoing Luke's pants, Luke broke the kiss.

"What now?" Reid asked frustration clearly evident in his voice.

Luke stood up and took Reid's hand. "Let's go upstairs. I know that no one is supposed to come home, but let's not tempt fate, okay?"

"A very sound idea, Mr. Snyder!" Reid answered and hurried Luke upstairs.

Chris walked into Metro and was pleased as everyone turned and applauded when he entered the room. He knew everyone would be happy to see him, but even he was unprepared for this reaction.

He was gratified to notice that Reid was stuck at a table in the back of the room, alone. Finally people are starting to understand where Reid belongs. He had originally hoped that Reid would be banished from the entire event, but seeing him humiliated was even more satisfying.

Chris made his way to the front of the room, he felt like he was floating toward his seat at the centre table. Naturally he was the centre of attention and all eyes were focused on him.

When he turned to the right he saw Katie staring lovingly at him.

He turned briefly to the left and found Ali staring at him with equal intensity.

Suddenly, he heard his father's voice. "I would like to announce that my beloved son, and brilliant doctor, Christopher Hughes, is the next chief of staff at Memorial Hospital."

Chris woke up with a triumphant smile on his face.


	29. Chapter 29

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Reid and Luke

Other Characters: Many Oakdaleites

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Reid and Luke

Disclaimer: These are not my characters, all belong to ATWT and its parent company(ies). All mistakes are mine.

Rating NC 17 for well you know, it's morning, their boys. *shrugs* oh and there's some swearing

A/N Bob's retirement dinner is at Metro. I am not really sure if it could be organized this way or not, so please just bear with me.

I have arranged the room into tables of six. Reid and Luke's table is at the front of the room Bob's table is beside it in the centre as he is the person of honour. Beside Bob's table is a table with members of the board.

Behind Luke's table is where Lily is sitting.

At the back by the doors is where Chris, Ali and Noah are sitting.

There are other tables that have random hospital staff members, that are there to fill up the room, but are not really heard from.

People that are missing are Emma who is looking after Natalie and Ethan, Susan who is working at the hospital, Lucinda and John who are still in Amsterdam, Gabriel and Liberty, who didn't fit into this story. Dusty is not at dinner but he will be around.

Reid woke up and stared at the naked blonde who was curled up into him. _God I love waking up with Luke. He is so beautiful, even when he sleeps. How did I manage to end up with him?_

Just then Luke stirred and opened his eyes to find Reid staring at him.

"Why are you staring at me? Was I drooling?" _Oh God, how embarrassing! _

Reid just chuckled and put his arms around the blonde. "No," he whispered into Luke's incredibly soft hair.

"Okay," Luke whispered back, temporarily forgetting what he had asked as he was overwhelmed by _**Reid**_**. **_God I love waking up with him. I don't think that I could ever get tired of this._

Reid tilted his head slightly so that he could kiss Luke's neck. He took extra time sucking, nipping and soothing his pulse points. He would have liked to mark Luke again but wasn't' sure that that was appropriate for Bob's retirement party. Instead he let his lips and his tongue travel down to Luke's Adam's apple. He loved feeling Luke swallow as he sucked on it. He moved further south spending time with each nipple, allowing his fingers to tease the nipple that his tongue wasn't working on and then switching.

Luke moaned deeply, loving the attention but desperately needing more. He tried reaching for Reid but the older man just batted away his hands.

"Let me," Reid demanded gently.

Luke could merely grunt his reluctant consent. He tried to touch himself as Reid was going incredibly slowly, but once again Reid pushed Luke's hand out of the way.

"Reeeeiiiiidddd," Luke moaned in delicious agony.

Reid chuckled and continued ministering to Luke… slowly.

Reid was careful to taste every part of Luke, not wanting to neglect any of his delectable blonde.

Reid dipped his tongue into Luke's belly button, slowly moving his tongue in and out of that spot.

Reeeeeiiiiiidddd," Luke moaned again whilst bucking his hips toward Reid's warm, hot mouth.

Reid moved away from the belly button, but avoided Luke's leaking cock and instead decided to explore his inner thighs. He traced a circular motion with his tongue and his hands as he lazily explored Luke. He allowed his teeth to gently graze over Luke's balls, causing the blonde to shudder with pleasure. He glided his tongue slowly up the length of Luke's rock hard cock causing Luke to moan and beg for more. Reid merely swiped his tongue across Luke leaking tip in order to get a taste.

"Nooooooooo," Luke moaned as Reid moved away. "Reeeiiiiiddd, I need more…" he managed to gasp out.

"Not yet," Reid murmured and gently rolled Luke over. "I have other plans for you."

"Yeeesssssssssssss," Luke hissed as he felt Reid spread his ass cheeks and he pushed his ass towards Reid's talented tongue.

Reid smiled at Luke's impatience, but he didn't make the blonde wait for long… he couldn't. He ran his tongue over Luke's hole slowly coating it with saliva.

"Reeeiiiid," Luke urged, grasping the sheets with his hands.

Reid poked his tongue into Luke's hole, just a little at first, but Luke forced Reid's tongue in further, and Reid couldn't resist him. Reid used his tongue to stretch Luke out and then he stuck two fingers into Luke's mouth, who sucked on them greedily. Once Luke had coated the fingers thoroughly, Reid allowed one to join his tongue. He managed to brush against Luke's prostate making Luke cry out. Reid added a second finger.

"Fuck…me…now!" Luke demanded. He was desperate to come, but determined not to release until Reid was buried balls deep in his ass. He reached into his night table and grabbed a condom. He ripped it open with his teeth and thrust it at Reid.

"Bossy bottom," Reid murmured, after he pulled his tongue out of Luke's hot ass. He was more than willing to sheath his aching cock with the proffered condom. He removed his fingers from Luke's hole and lined up his cock. He had planned to enter Luke slowly, but Luke was too far gone to wait and impaled himself on Reid's cock in one smooth motion.

"Holy mother of God," Reid exhaled as the sensation of Luke's ass swallowing his cock whole, overwhelming his senses. He began to pump into Luke in a steady rhythm but Luke's hand wrapped around Reid's hip and grabbed onto his ass so that he could urge Reid to go faster.

"Fuck…me…harder," Luke demanded.

Reid was so turned on by Luke's order that he increased his rhythm and grabbed Luke's cock and stroked it at the same time. Reid was really close but he was determined not to let go before Luke did so he changed the angle of his thrusts just slightly until he was sure, that he was hitting Luke's prostate every time. Two strokes later, Luke was flying as he screamed out Reid's name. His ass clenched around Reid's dick pushing Reid over the edge as well. The two lay there, their bodies heaving as they each tried to get their breathing under control. Reid gently removed himself from Luke's hole so that he could remove and dispose of the used condom. As soon as he had, he came back and covered Luke's body with his own.

"That was amazing," Reid whispered into the other man's ear.

"Yeah," was all Luke could manage, with a dreamy smile.

They lay together for awhile, both of them enjoying the afterglow. Luke drifted back to sleep, but Reid began to worry about Bob's dinner and couldn't manage to go back to sleep. Reid carefully lifted himself off of Luke, trying not to disturb the younger man.

"I love you," Luke mumbled and returned to sleep. Reid wasn't sure if Luke had woken up or was just muttering in his sleep. Either way the sentiment made him smile.

Reid went into Luke's bathroom and had a shower. He pulled on a pair of Luke's sweats and an old t-shirt and headed downstairs. He remembered the morning when Luke brought him breakfast in bed, and decided that he would try to return the favour. _I hope Noah does not feel the urge to drop by this morning! Ugh!_

Reid quickly brushed off that thought and rummaged around the kitchen in search of Luke's favourite cereal and two bowls. Reid found what he was looking for as well as a tray to transport the food. He quickly assembled a reasonable breakfast and grabbed some of Emma's muffins to make it better. Luke had set the coffee pot the night before so Reid was able to pour out two cups of coffee for them. He took the food and headed upstairs and back to a very appreciative Luke.

Later that day Chris was preparing for the evening's festivities. He was pleased that Katie would be sitting with him and that Reid would be stuck all alone at the back. He had thought about calling Katie and seeing if she wanted him to pick her up, but had decided that she would have to work a little bit harder to get back into his good graces.

He would arrive with Alison as planned.

He nodded at his reflection once he had finished putting on his tuxedo and tying his tie. _I will make a very handsome chief of staff, indeed._

He checked his watch and saw that it was 6:45, the dinner was set to start at 7:00 but Chris wanted to make a grand entrance that he had seen in his dream so he planned on arriving fashionably late. After all he didn't want to deprive his audience. That would just be rude. Really he was doing it for others. He smiled to himself.

Meanwhile:

Ali was wondering where the hell Chris was. It was 6:50 and he was nowhere in sight. Perhaps he had asked someone else to go with him instead. Ali sighed heavily as she thought about calling a cab. _I'll give Chris five more minutes and then I will call myself a cab. _Noah had left fifteen minutes ago and promised to keep an eye out for her seat, so at least she wouldn't suffer the embarrassment of searching for her place card. _Hopefully I'll be sitting with Noah, Emily and Paul, so that if Chris really does stand me up, at least I'll have people who care about me to talk to. _

At Metro:

Luke and Reid had arrived early and both looked impossibly handsome in their custom made tuxes.

Luke had wanted to arrive early to make sure that everything was running smoothly. He knew that it was Bob's night and he didn't want to do anything to take away from this special occasion. He also hoped that it would be spectacular night for Reid and he wanted everything to go perfectly for his partner.

Reid was happy to come early, because he knew that there were going to be plenty of appetizers and he didn't want to miss out on any of them.

Katie had insisted on driving herself, not wanting to be anymore of a third wheel than she already was. Katie looked beautiful in a stunning black cocktail dress. When Katie arrived she found Luke mingling with some of the other guests and Reid gobbling up an enormous plate of finger food.

"Hey Handsome," she greeted Reid teasingly.

"Hi Katie," he responded around a mouthful of food.

Katie rolled her eyes.

Luke walked over to them with a big smile on his face. "Katie you look amazing," he announced, before leaning in and kissing her warmly on the cheek.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Luke," she answered. "This one," she added, nodding at Reid. "I'm not so sure about."

Luke laughed as Reid looked completely non-plussed.

"Shall we?" Katie asked linking one of her arms through one of each of her escorts. The three of them made a striking entrance as they headed toward their table. They were the first ones to arrive and they were happy to talk amongst themselves.

"Do you know where Chris is supposed to be sitting?" Katie asked, hoping it was far away from their table.

"Yes, right over there," Luke answered and pointed at a table next to the exit.

"Wow that is not a very good table. Did you do that on purpose?" Katie asked, surprised because Luke was always considerate and never petty.

"No, it was Bob's idea. He said that he wanted to make sure that Chris was as close to the exit as possible. I'm not really sure why."

Reid smirked at that, but didn't make a comment.

Just then Casey, Barbara and Henry came and joined them.

Luke stood up to welcome them, shaking Henry's hand and kissing Barbara warmly on the cheek. Casey gave Luke an awkward hug and sat down beside him.

Katie hugged Henry who sat down beside her and nodded at Barbara.

Reid just grunted hello to the newcomers.

When everyone was settled Reid turned to Luke. "Why didn't you tell me that Hank was sitting at our table? I thought that it was just going to be the four of us," he grumbled.

"Henry was always going to sit here. Maddie is Henry's sister so it made sense to put them at the same table. Katie loves Henry so she was the perfect replacement for Maddie."

Reid rolled his eyes, but nodded his head.

Luke noticed that room was quickly filling up. He waved to his mom and dad who were sitting at the table behind his. He noticed that his mother looked a little put out, and realized that she was probably annoyed not to be sitting at his table.

He noticed Craig walk in and take his seat next to Margo. He also saw Tom frown at Craig. _Oh well, you can't please everyone and Craig had to sit somewhere. _

He looked at the table closest to the door and was surprised to see Noah sitting by himself. _I wonder where Chris is. I can't imagine that he wouldn't come to his own father's retirement party. That would be incredibly thoughtless, even for Chris._

As he was thinking this he saw Paul and Emily sit down at Noah's table.

Luke looked to his far right and saw that all of the expected board members had arrived.

Finally, he looked at the last tables that had an assortment of hospital staff. He knew that there had already been a celebration at the hospital, and that many of the staff was working tonight, but he was happy that some of the older staff had been able to attend this event. He knew that it would mean a lot to Bob.

"Hey Luke," Reid nudged Luke in the ribs. "It looks like this shindig is about to get underway. Here comes the food."

Luke laughed, happy to be sitting here with Reid. "I hope that the food meets with your approval, I tried for sandwiches, but it was a non starter, sorry," he teased.

"Ha ha," Reid replied. "Although I think sandwiches would have been an excellent choice. I know that Teri is an excellent chef, so I'm sure that anything she prepared will be amazing. I mean she's no Grandma Emma, but she does make amazing food. Did you taste her appetizers, especially the bacon thingies? They were superb."

"I thought that you liked the crab puffs the best, you inhaled about a hundred of them. I only had a few appetizers as I was saving room for dinner," Luke explained.

"What is this saving room business?" Reid asked a look of abject horror on his face.

Just before the food was served, Bob stood up at his table and began to speak. "I just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for coming," he paused and looked at the two empty seats where Chris and Ali should be seating. "I am so happy to see so many faces of my colleagues, family and friends. Bon Appétit!" Everyone clapped for Bob as he re took his seat.

After that the wait staff quickly served everyone's food. Just as Luke was about to begin eating he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up and saw that it was Noah.

"What's up, Noah? You should probably go back to your table, or your dinner will get cold."

"Luke, I care about other things besides food," he said looking pointedly at Reid who had already begun eating with gusto.

"Noah, I don't want to fight with you," Luke said patiently.

"Me neither. I just came over here because I am worried about Ali and Chris, they haven't arrived yet and I'm worried that something has happened to them."

Luke sighed. "Have you tried calling Ali?"

"Yes, but it went straight to her voicemail."

"Well I'm surprised that they're not here yet, but I really don't know what I can do."

"You're just going to sit here and eat?"

"Um, yes," Luke replied. "Let me know if you find anything else out."

Noah stared at Luke, incredulously. "I just don't know who you are anymore," he muttered and returned to his table.

Just as Noah sat down the doors flew open and Chris and Ali walked in. Chris had a big smile on his face which quickly died when he saw that Reid was sitting in his seat. He also noticed that while people were staring at him, they weren't applauding and in fact they looked a little bit annoyed with him. He looked at his father, who frowned at him in disapproval and went back to eating.

Ali, who at least had the sense to look chagrined at their lateness, whispered harshly to Chris that they needed to sit down.

"Here?" Chris asked, with horror in his voice and on his face.

"Yes here," Ali answered, wondering what was wrong with Chris. "Noah said he would find our seats before we got here, since you were clearly running late, luckily we are all at the same table."

Chris sat down and glared at Reid's back. Something was terribly wrong. Reid was supposed to be sitting at this table…alone, while he was supposed to be sitting there beside Katie.

"What happened? Why am I stuck sitting at the loser's table? Reid must have switched places with me," Chris grumbled.

"Oh no honey," Janet announced. "Reid was always supposed to be at that spot. Luke was in charge of the seating plan and the only person that changed at that table was Katie. Maddie was supposed to be with Casey, but I guess that she cancelled and Katie took her place."

"Luke organized the seating plan? Why would he put Reid in such a prime spot?" he asked before he realized that Luke was sitting there on the other side of Reid. "Whaaaaaaa?"

Paul was enjoying Chris's obvious distress. "Well Luke and Reid are a super couple, that might be the reason that Reid got such a great spot and well," he shrugged, "we didn't."

Chris turned to Ali and glared. "Reid and Luke are a couple? When did they get back together, and why do they look so sickeningly happy to together? This is wrong, all wrong."

Ali shrugged, she really didn't know that they were back together, but looking at them, the body language was undeniable.

"I don't think that they look that happy together, and besides they'll never last. They are totally wrong for each other. Luke belongs with me," Noah said confidently.

Emily, Janet, Ali and even Paul just stared at Noah, dumbfounded.

"If he belongs with you, why couldn't you get him back? I thought that you had a dinner date with him a little while ago."

"We did have a date," Noah answered defensively. "We would have gotten back together but Reid interrupted us."

"Hey was that at Al's? I think that Dusty and I were there that night. Reid walked in and hauled Luke off the bathroom, and they were gone for a looooonnng time, and when they came out they both looked totally blissed out," Janet added with a dreamy look on her face. "Those two are hot together!"

"Wow, bathroom sex! I didn't know that Luke had it in him," Paul chuckled. "No pun intended."

"They did not have sex in the bathroom at Al's! I don't know why everyone thinks that. Luke is not that kind of person. He would never do that to me, especially when we were on a date!"

"Honey, Luke did not look like he was on a date with you. When Reid walked in his whole face lit up and his body language completely changed," Janet stated.

"Maybe Luke didn't know that it was a date, sweetie. Maybe he just thought you were having dinner together, you know, as friends," Ali said gently.

"It was a date," Noah said through gritted teeth.

Paul and Emily laughed.

Chris looked like he was going to explode at any moment.

Ali ate in silence, wondering if she could get a ride home with Emily and Paul. Ali was starting to realize that she didn't want to be around Chris or Noah right now.

"Why was Chris so late, Dad?" Tom wanted to know, "and why isn't he sitting with us. He must feel badly being stuck at the loser table."

Kim gave Bob a pointed look; she had that argument with Bob earlier when she realized that Chris would not be sitting with them.

"I'm not sure why he was late," Bob answered honestly. "He is not at the loser table, there is no such table at this event. He's not at this table because there wasn't room."

All eyes focused on Craig.

"Why is everyone looking at me? I sat here because that's where I was placed."

Bob nodded. "Chris wanted to come with Ali and there was only one spot available at this table."

"Why is Janet sitting at his table, I don't think that they really know each other," Kim commented.

"According to Luke, Janet was a late addition and she asked to sit at that table so that she could make an easy exit if her babysitter calls. She had approved the seating plan when Luke brought it over and saw that there was an empty seat," Bob answered.

"Chris looks pretty unhappy with the company he's keeping and Ali doesn't look too pleased either," Margo noted.

"Isn't it going to be awkward for him to join you when you announce that he's the next chief of staff? Luke should have put him at his table instead," Tom asserted.

Lisa laughed out loud. "Tom, honey, what makes you think that Christopher, of all the doctor's at Memorial, would be chosen as the next chief of staff? That's ridiculous."

"Lisa, Christopher could become the chief of staff, it is certainly not ridiculous," Kim admonished.

"He told me that you were going to be naming him tonight. Dad," Tom said, clearly confused. "Didn't you promise him the job?"

Bob and Kim shared a worried look. "No I most certainly didn't promise Chris the top job. He is not ready for it at all."

Craig sat back and enjoyed the drama.

"Wow, Luke the food is delicious," Reid enthused. "Did you have something to do with it?"

Luke blushed a pretty shade of pink. "Teri created a few menu choices and I picked the one that I thought you would enjoy the most," Luke shrugged, feeling pleased and embarrassed at the same time.

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke warmly. "You are the best boyfriend ever," he whispered, just loudly enough for Luke to hear.

Luke blushed some more.

A/N Well this is the beginning of the end for Chris. I have stopped for now as it was getting too long.

I am not a fan of Janet, but I thought that it would be fun to put her at the loser table.


	30. Chapter 30

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Many Oakdaleites

Summary: This is the story about the courtship of Luke and Reid.

This is story is AU, as Reid is very much alive. Katie and Chris are not together.

Rating: PG 14 for language.

**A/N: This is the end for Chris. I hope that you like it. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing this story so far. Your comments mean a lot to me.**

"Wow, Luke the food is delicious," Reid enthused. "Did you have something to do with it?"

Luke blushed a pretty shade of pink. "Teri created a few menu choices and I picked the one that I thought you would enjoy the most," Luke shrugged, feeling pleased and embarrassed at the same time.

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke warmly. "You are the best boyfriend ever," he whispered, just loudly enough for Luke to hear.

Luke blushed even more

After all of the dinner plates were removed from the tables, Luke turned to Reid. "I'm so full; I wish that I hadn't eaten quite so much," he lamented.

"What are you talking about? The food was incredible, I wish that I had eaten more!"

"Oh my God," Luke answered in disbelief. "Aren't you full?"

"Well, kind of," Reid admitted, "but we're still going to have dessert, right?"

Luke groaned and wished that he had an elastic waist band.

Mercifully he noticed Bob walking up to the front of the room and standing at the lectern that had been placed there, just for this evening.

"This is it," he whispered to Reid, a huge smile on his face.

Reid simply nodded and grabbed Luke's hand. He would never admit it, but he was actually feeling pretty nervous.

"May I have your attention please," Bob spoke into the microphone.

All eyes immediately focused on Bob.

"Before the servers bring out coffee and dessert, I thought that I would take this opportunity to say a few words," he began.

Faith groaned and glared at her mother. "I have to sit through a boring speech, why didn't you warn me about this," Faith hissed at Lily.

"Faith, you are almost an adult, you need to learn how to behave, now please listen to Bob," Lily admonished.

Faith rolled her eyes. "I would rather be at home with Natalie, Ethan and Grandma Emma," she muttered, loudly enough for Lily to hear.

"Faith," Lily responded, louder than she intended and several people turned to stare at her.

Lily smiled to hide her acute embarrassment, and then turned to glare at Faith, who was smirking to herself.

Lily returned her attention to Bob.

"I have truly enjoyed serving the hospital for these many years," Bob droned on.

Reid could barely pay attention to Bob's speech as the anticipation took over his entire nervous system. _Thank God that Luke is beside me. _Luke was holding Reid's hand and running his thumb gently over Reid's index finger in an effort to calm the other man down.

"It has been a great joy to treat children, who have grown up and then brought there children to be treated by me," Bob continued.

Craig was feeling a little bored and was hoping that Bob's speech would get more interesting. Then he noticed that Kim was fidgeting, uncharacteristically, and followed her gaze to see that Chris was beaming. _Hmmm maybe this will get more interesting after all. _Craig sat back and waited, hoping not to be disappointed.

"As with all things in life, there is a cycle, and the time has come for me to pass the torch on to someone else. I am happy to announce that the new chief of staff, is not only a brilliant doctor and marvellous colleague, this man has also become like a son to me," Bob continued.

A look of confusion crossed Chris's face. _Like a son? What the hell does that mean? I am his son, aren't I? Oh my God, did Mom cheat on Dad? Do I have a different biological father? Oh, I understand, Dad doesn't want my promotion to be tainted by nepotism._ Mystery solved Chris returned to beaming.

Kim meanwhile, studiously looked down at her lap to avoid seeing the hopeful look on poor Christopher's face. _He's going to be devastated. I know that he's not ready to take over the hospital, but I hope that Bob is doing the right thing. _

Craig noticed Kim's obvious discomfort, which seemed to increase as the speech seemed to be nearing its end. He looked over at Chris, who clearly believed he was getting the top job. _Oh my God, the kid is delusional! I can't wait to see what happens next._

Luke smiled at Reid and leaned in and whispered, "I am so incredibly proud of you, I love you!" into Reid's ear.

Reid smiled at Luke, and felt more secure than he had ever felt in his life.

Katie glanced over and caught the look between them. Reid looked so open, and so vulnerable and beautiful. She quickly looked away, feeling a bit like a voyeur.

"So without further adieu, I would like to introduce the next chief of staff at Memorial Hospital," Bob intoned. "Dr. Reid Oliver, would you please join me and say a few words,"

Reid stood up to join Bob on the dais, while the crowd applauded.

Luke and Katie were over the moon to see Reid get the job he so richly deserved.

The Hughes table, all except Kim who was still looking down at her lap, were stunned.

Craig could see that Chris was apoplectic at the news.

"Reid Oliver, Dad can't be serious, Chris hates that guy. He still blames Reid for some fiasco that happened to him in med school. This is a slap in the face to my little brother," Tom finished in a shocked voice.

The table turned to see Chris standing up, his face purple with rage.

"Oh my God," Margo muttered. _Thank God that Jack and I are already here. I have a bad feeling about this._

"Wow Sis, I just wish I had some popcorn so that I could really enjoy the show!" Craig whispered in Margo's ear.

Margo just gave Craig a withering look. "Did you know anything about this?" she demanded quietly.

"No, I swear!" Craig answered putting his hands in the air as a sign of innocence. "This is just a happy coincidence that I happened to come tonight. My only intention was to come here to support Bob."

"Did you know that Reid was getting the top job?" Carly asked Lily, with a mixture of awe and surprise. "I expected the job to go to Susan. She has a lot more seniority than Reid."

"I really didn't know, Luke mentioned something about Reid being considered, but I figured it was just Luke being a cheerleader for his current beau," Lily shrugged.

"Lily," Holden chided. "You really need to take Luke more seriously. He is an adult now with a good head on his shoulders, and a beautiful heart."

"I guess so, but to me he will always be my baby," she replied with a smile.

Holden rolled his eyes. "That's my point, he's not a baby and if you keep treating him like he is, you may find that you lose him."

"Calm down you two, I think that Chris Hughes is about to blow a gasket, so I can't be worried about the pair of you, okay?" Jack admonished the couple.

Faith rolled her eyes at her Uncle Jack, but turned with the rest of the table to stare at Chris. _Oh my God, Uncle Jack is right; Chris is going to have a fit. Finally things are going to get interesting!_

Ali, who had begun to edge her chair closer to Emily's and further away from Chris's while Bob was speaking, was now practically sitting in her sister's lap and fervently hoping that everyone would think that she had come with Emily and Paul rather than Chris.

Paul chuckled when he heard Bob announce Reid's name and mused that perhaps that was the reason for Dr. Oliver's excellent seating placement.

Noah squinted at Paul, finding his comments in extremely poor taste.

Janet, however, nodded vigorously and commented on what a great job Luke had done with the seating plan. "Dr. Oliver is an amazing doctor, why he fixed my Dusty right up a few months ago. By the way, have you seen is ass? The man is smokin' hot. I bet he'll get people to donate to the hospital just so that they can see him. I would, you know if I had any money. Maybe I can get Dusty to donate…" she blathered on and on.

Noah squinted at her too.

Just as Reid reached Bob at the podium, Chris stood up and started yelling. "Dad what the fuck is going on here?"

"Christopher!" Kim admonished from her table. "Don't use that language or that tone with your father."

"Dad come on, the joke's over, tell everyone that I am the new chief of staff. You can't seriously be handing over the hospital to that jackass!"

Luke was practically shaking in his seat. _How dare Chris say such things about Reid? Bob had better put a stop to this now!_

Katie reached out and took Luke's hand to calm the younger man down. "Look at Reid," she suggested quietly. "He's fine. If anything he is amused by Chris making a fool of himself."

Luke looked up at Reid and saw that he had a ghost of a smile on his face and Luke realized that Katie was right. Luke immediately relaxed, but he didn't let go of Katie's hand.

"Christopher you need to sit down and accept that Reid is the new chief of staff," Bob replied sternly.

"The fuck I will," shouted Chris. "I've talked to the board members Dad and I've told them exactly what kind of man Reid is and they would never have voted him in," Chris finished smugly.

At that moment Leland stood up. "Chris, your father is fully aware that you spoke to us and we have discussed Reid thoroughly and we, the board, unanimously voted for him to be the next chief of staff. Now please sit down," he finished angrily.

"What?" Chris started. "I can't believe this. What does Reid have on all of you? You can't possibly think that he is fit to run Memorial! I am a Hughes, for fuck's sake. Memorial is my birthright!" Chris finished starting to move toward the dais, to take his rightful spot.

Paul noticed that Chris was moving and simply put his foot out and tripped Chris.

Everyone just stared as Chris toppled over.

"Oh Christopher, Baby, are you alright?" Kim asked from her table, getting up to check on him.

Chris got up, glared at Paul and noticed a stray steak knife sitting by Paul's arm. He grabbed the knife and briefly threatened Paul with it.

"I ought to kill you, for that" Chris hissed out. At that moment Dusty appeared and performed a round house kick in order to disarm Chris.

Margo and Jack had seen and heard enough. Jack was the first one to reach Chris, and while he had been subdued by the roundhouse kick, it was Jack that put the cuffs on and led Chris out into the hall. Margo and Tom quickly caught up and followed Jack and Chris outside in order to see what would happen next.

"Please don't hurt my baby," Kim cried after them. "He really is a good person, he's just misunderstood," she explained and turned to glare at Bob.

"I'm sorry Reid, but I need to go and attend to this," Bob apologized.

"By all means go, Bobbo," Reid replied, ushering the older doctor off to his son.

"Well," Reid began turning briefly to smile at Luke. "That was an unexpected turn of events, but then again this is Oakdale, so I'm sure none of you are truly surprised."

The audience just stared blankly back at him.

Reid resisted the urge to roll his eyes and began the speech that Luke had written for him.

Meanwhile Bob had joined Kim, Chris, Tom, Margo, Jack, and Dusty he was pleased to see that nurse Gretchen had joined them as well.

Jack was the first to speak. "Bob, I'm sorry but we are going to have to arrest Chris, his behaviour can't simply be swept under the rug."

"Arrested," Kim whispered in horror. "Jack, you know Chris, you know he's not a …criminal," she spat out the last word.

"My hands are tied, Kim. He threatened Paul with a steak knife," Jack replied.

"Paul tripped me! You can't arrest me; I need to run the hospital. I am the chief of staff."

"Jack, I don't think that jail is the best place for Chris," Bob paused.

"Thank God, he can come home with us," Kim added.

"No," Bob said firmly. "Kim we are going to follow through with my original plan. If you and Margo agree to it," Bob continued looking at Jack.

"Tell me your plan," Jack sighed, another perfectly good arrest was slipping through his fingers!

"Chris clearly needs help," Bob started.

"I have the whole staff to help me Dad. They all hate Reid Oliver too. I've seen to that," Chris piped up helpfully.

"I was concerned that something like this might happen. I didn't realize that he was this far gone, but I have arranged a spot for him at Deerbrooke and Gretchen and Dusty have graciously agreed to accompany him on the next train."

"Deerbrooke? Why would I be going to Deerbrooke? Did you go there when you became the chief of staff? Is that part of my training? Why didn't anyone say anything earlier?"

"Christopher, I'm sorry, but you need help. You are going to Deerbrooke as a patient," Bob answered gently.

"I'm going to a mental hospital as a patient? Did Reid put you up to this? I knew that I should have killed him. Oh my God, wait until Mom finds out. She'll never let this happen."

"Sweetheart," Kim said gently taking his hand. "You really do need help. Your father thinks that this is what's best for you, so please just give it a try."

"Oh my God, is this really happening to me? I'm really not the chief of staff? This isn't some kind of elaborate joke?"

"No," Bob responded in his kindest voice, while everyone else shook their heads, feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

"I'm really not the chief of staff?" Chris said again in bewilderment. _Where did I go wrong! This is all Reid Oliver's fault and Luke Snyder's too. I'm going to get them as soon as I get out._

Chris had actually said that last part out loud and the group stood there feeling horrified. Even Kim realized that her son could not possibly remain free and that his healing process was going to take a very long time.

"I need to go back to my apartment and pack a bag," Chris pleaded; there was a drawer where he kept a dossier on Reid that he wanted to take with him.

"No need, Son. Your mother stopped by this morning and packed a bag, just in case it would be needed. We will send more things when it becomes necessary. Dusty do you have your car ready? You need to get going if you are going to get to the train on time."

"You're not coming with me?" Chris asked, looking from Bob to Kim.

"I'm sorry Son, but I'm needed here. I can't possibly leave now, when the hospital is changing into Reid's hands. I need to be here for the transition. Gretchen and Dusty will make sure that you get settled."

"I can't believe that you're choosing Reid over me, your own son," Chris stated bitterly. "You'll come and visit me thought, right?"

"Yes, we'll come and visit you, once the doctors feel that you are ready to see people." Bob replied, being careful not to commit to anything in particular.

_Oh my God, I'm all alone being carted off the nuthouse. Don't they know that I'm not crazy? How did this happen. My mom and dad aren't even coming with me. They're staying with Reid fucking Oliver. God I hate him!_

"Okay, well it's time to go. I'll be in touch with your doctors soon to check on your progress. Please concentrate on getting well," Bob finished sincerely.

"I'll go with them so that they can keep the cuffs on," Jack stated reasonably, he wanted to make sure that nothing went wrong. Chris had clearly gone off the deep end and was a threat not only to Reid, but also to Luke. Jack had to protect his nephew. "Please tell Carly where I've gone and ask Holden and Lily to take her home."

"Thanks Jack, I will make sure that Carly gets home safely."

Kim took a moment to tearfully say goodbye to her son. She was not really sure who he was anymore, but she prayed that he would get the help he so desperately needed at Deerbrooke.

_I'm alone, I'm really all alone. Reid has won. I have never felt so defeated in my entire life._ That was the last thought Chris had as he stepped into Dusty's car.

Bob, Kim, Tom and Margo returned just in time to catch the end of Reid's speech. By the rapt attention of his audience Bob knew that Reid was doing an excellent job.

"There is one more person that I need to acknowledge, without him I literally would not be standing before you tonight," Reid paused and stared at Luke. Luke was beaming back at him. _Oh my God, I think that he's talking about me! I think that he's going to thank me here, right now in front of everyone!_

"Luke Snyder, I love you! Thank-you for dragging me here to Oakdale," Reid finished, nodded to Bob, who had managed to join Reid on the dais, and went back to his seat.

Luke kissed Reid as soon as he was able to. "I love you too," he said earnestly, once he had broken the kiss. "I can't believe you said that, in front of everyone."

Reid shrugged. "It's the truth. I wouldn't be here without you."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I wasn't talking about you thanking me, although that was really great too; I meant that I couldn't believe that you said you loved me in front of everyone."

Reid shrugged again. "It's the truth and to be honest with you I really don't think anyone was terribly shocked by that announcement."

Luke just smiled lovingly back at Reid. _I'm sure that everyone was shocked by that announcement._

A/N I'm not quite done with Bob's retirement party. Luke is correct, people were very surprised and not everyone was pleased. I bet you can guess who that was!

I hope that you were satisfied with Chris's exit. He will not be back! I had planned this from the beginning and I hope that it was believable. Chris will not be back, but you will find out about the dossier that he has on Reid.

.


	31. Chapter 31

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Many Oakdaleites

Summary: This is the story about the courtship of Luke and Reid.

This story is AU, as Reid is very much alive. Katie and Chris are not together. Faith and Parker are **not **dating in this story.

Rating: PG 14.

A/N Well this is the third chapter of the Retirement party. Honestly I thought that I would get it done in one. I'm rolling my eyes at myself. LOL

"Luke Snyder, I love you! Thank-you for dragging me here to Oakdale," Reid finished, nodded to Bob, who had managed to join Reid on the dais, and went back to his seat.

Luke kissed Reid as soon as he was able to. "I love you too," he said earnestly, once he had broken the kiss. "I can't believe you said that, in front of everyone."

Reid shrugged. "It's the truth. I wouldn't be here without you."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I wasn't talking about you thanking me, although that was really great too; I meant that I couldn't believe that you said you loved me in front of everyone."

Reid shrugged again. "It's the truth and to be honest with you I really don't think anyone was terribly shocked by that announcement."

Luke just smiled lovingly back at Reid. _I'm sure that everyone was shocked by that announcement._

"Oh my God, did you hear that?" Carly shrieked at Lily.

"Er..um…yes," Lily answered.

"Did you know that Reid loved Luke?" she demanded.

"Well…um…yes," Lily admitted. "He announced it at a family dinner."

"Wow," Carly exclaimed. "He must really love Luke; Dr. Oliver doesn't seem like the kind of man who is prone to big romantic gestures. I always thought that he was rude and kind of cold. I worried that he might take advantage of Luke's sweet nature, but now I see that he is one smitten kitten."

"Well he is cold and rude, but he is also really loving and sweet towards Luke," Lily admitted, grudgingly. "Luke really loves him. In fact, Luke is happier now than I have ever seen him."

Carly shot up an eyebrow. "Are you saying that he's happier with Reid than he was with Noah?"

"Much happier," Holden interjected. "Looking back I don't think that he was ever truly happy with Noah."

"You can't be serious. I always thought that Luke and Noah would be together forever," Carly stated.

"Holden, you know that Luke loved Noah. It's not fair to rewrite history and say that those two boys weren't happy," Lily insisted.

"No, I think that Dad's right. We all thought that Luke and Noah were happy together, but they were always breaking up, and Luke was often sad," Faith added.

Holden, Lily and Carly all squirmed uncomfortably at the mention of multiple break-ups.

"Sweetie, all relationships have their ups and downs. Lots of couples break-up and then get back together," Lily explained.

"Well, I don't think that Reid and Luke will every break up. They just always seem so connected to one another. They're always touching and smiling at each other. I hope that one day a boy looks at me the way that Reid looks at Luke," Faith smiled dreamily.

"Wow, isn't that the most romantic thing that you've ever heard," Janet exclaimed, blinking back the tears that were threatening to stream down her face.

"Yeah," Emily agreed.

"I didn't think that Dr. Oliver had it in him. He always seems so cold at work," Ali said.

"I think that it was in really bad taste for Reid to tell Luke that he loves him, in public, no less," Noah stated, squinting at his table mates. "He didn't seem very sincere to me."

"Are you kidding me?" Paul asked. "What guy would say that in public if he didn't mean it? Unless they were, I don't know, marrying someone under false pretences," Paul offered.

"Who would ever do that?" Janet asked, bewildered.

Emily smirked.

"Noah married a woman named Ameera," Ali informed Janet.

"You married a woman? Really? I thought that you were gay, and that you and Luke were a couple. Did this happen before you met Luke?" Janet asked curiously.

"Those were special circumstances," Noah explained, squinting self-righteously. "I married her so that she could stay in this country. I saved her life, she was going to be put to death if she had been deported."

"Uh huh," Emily added dubiously. "Weren't you already with Luke when you married her?"

"Yes," Noah admitted. "Luke understood and supported me whole heartedly. He even wrote our wedding vows and they were beautiful," Noah sighed, remembering Luke's loving words.

"You asked Luke to write your wedding vows, when you were marrying someone else?" Janet asked incredulously.

"Luke volunteered," Noah answered, defensively. "He knew that I was doing the right thing."

"Poor Luke," Emily stated. "Thank God he has someone now who obviously puts him first."

"What are you talking about? Reid only puts one person first, himself. Do you know that he had feelings for Luke from the very beginning? That he made me break up with Luke, so that he could have Luke for himself?"

"Reid had feelings for Luke right from the start?" Ali asked.

"Yes," Noah responded triumphantly.

"How do you know that?" Emily asked out of curiosity.

"I asked him when he started having feelings for Luke and he told me that it was the second or third time he laid eyes on him," Noah answered, pleased that he had proof of Reid's shenanigans.

"Wow," all three women squealed in unison. "That's so romantic and sweet," Ali exclaimed.

"What?" Noah asked. "It's not sweet, it's creepy. I was his patient. I think that it might have been an ethical violation."

"What are you talking about?" Paul asked. "How is being attracted to someone unethical. If it were we would all be in trouble," Emily gave him a questioning look. "Hypothetically speaking of course," he smiled at his wife.

"I was his patient, he should not have had any feelings for my boyfriend," Noah stated indignantly.

"Well the heart wants what the heart wants," Janet said, nodding sagely.

"Did Dr. Oliver make a pass at Luke way back then?" Alison asked.

"Well no, but he told me to keep Luke away from him. So you see, he is the one who orchestrated our break-up."

"He didn't actually tell you to dump Luke, did he?" Emily asked.

"Well no, but I mean what else was I supposed to do? Luke was smothering me. He didn't understand that I needed space."

"What do you mean by 'you needed space'?" Ali wanted to know.

"You know how Luke is. He kept trying to help me, and I needed to be independent. I needed to learn how to live on my own," Noah explained.

"So you pushed Luke away?" Ali asked, finally realizing that maybe Luke was better off with Dr. Oliver.

"I had to, he wouldn't leave me alone," Noah whined.

"So are you saying that Luke and Dr. Oliver didn't get together until you and Luke had already broken up?" Emily asked.

"Technically, I suppose that's true, but Luke and I always break up and got back together. That's just how our relationship works."

"Uh huh, maybe Luke didn't realize that he was supposed to wait around until you wanted to take him back," Paul suggested.

"Oh Luke never just waited around, "Noah replied smugly. "He always begged me to take him back until I was ready to give in."

"Wow, and he managed to move on from that…shocker," Emily stated sarcastically.

Noah squinted at her. "We'll get back together, I know we will. Luke and I belong together."

Once again his table mates stared at him, flabbergasted.

"Oh my goodness, that Reid Oliver is just the sweetest thing ever, and sooooo handsome!" Lisa exclaimed.

"Mom, I think that we should be focused on Chris right now, not on Reid Oliver," Tom interjected.

"Well yes dear, I see your point, but I can't help being excited for Luke. Luke is such a dear boy and he deserves to be with someone who adores him."

"Kim, how is Chris? Is Margo still with him? Is he going home?" Tom asked as Kim rejoined the table looking grim.

"I'm not really sure how Chris is. Margo asked me to tell you that she had to go to the police station to fill out some paper work. Chris is not coming home. Bob has arranged for him to get help at Deerbrooke."

"Deerbrooke," Tom uttered, clearly shocked. "Is that really necessary?"

Kim gave Tom a hard look. "Yes it's necessary. Do you think that I would put my son in a mental hospital if I didn't' think that it was absolutely imperative?"

"Sorry Kim, I didn't mean it that way," Tom offered, chagrined.

"I'm sure that everything will be alright," Tom said. "Do you think that we should send everyone home so that you and Dad can take the time to process this?"

Kim hesitated for a moment.

"Good Heavens, no," Lisa exclaimed. "This is Bob's retirement party. We need to celebrate all of his accomplishments. Plus there's going to be dancing later. I want to see Luke and Reid dance together. Don't you think that they will look sexy together on the dance floor? Yum!"

"Oh look they're serving dessert, and it looks delicious," Craig announced happily.

"So Dude, what was up with the big "I love you, Luke Snyder declaration?" Casey asked.

"Ooooh it was so romantic," Katie practically swooned.

Reid shrugged. "It was no big deal. That's how I feel so that's what I said," Reid answered reasonably.

Luke beamed silently beside him, and squeezed his thigh.

"Well thanks a lot, Dude, you've just set the bar higher for romantic gestures," Casey grumbled, but he was happy for his friend.

"My Henry is very romantic," Barbara interjected, not wanting to be outdone. "Wait until you see his moves on the dance floor."

Reid just snorted and waggled his eyebrows at Hank.

"I love dancing with Barbara. We fit together **very** well," Henry added, not pleased with Reid's response.

Barbara beamed at Henry and gave the rest of the table an 'I told you so' look.

Reid ignored Henry and Barbara and the image of the two of them together and focussed his attention on something much more pleasurable.

"Wow this dessert is amazing! Do you know what it is?" Reid asked.

"It's an Opera cake! I thought that you would appreciate the drama," Luke answered.

"Yes, because **I'm** all about the drama," Reid commented sarcastically.

Luke laughed. "Well this is Oakdale; we're prone to that sort of thing," Luke mused. "So are you going to dance with me later?"

Reid wanted to say 'hell no', but one look in Luke's big brown eyes and he found himself trapped. "Sure," he answered weakly, "but later, okay?"

Luke nodded, his smile even brighter than it was before, if that were possible.

Reid just shook his head in resignation.

Shortly after the dancing started Katie decided it was time for her to go. "I need to get home so that I can relieve the babysitter," she explained, while saying her goodbye's to the table.

"Congratulations on your promotion, I'm really proud of you," she said as she leaned over and kissed Reid on the cheek. "Am I going to see you later tonight, or tomorrow?" she asked with a gleam in her eye.

"I'm not sure," Reid answered feeling a little off balance.

"Tomorrow," Luke stated at the same time. Reid gave him a questioning look. "Definitely tomorrow," Luke stated emphatically.

"Okay," Katie smiled. "Have fun," she added waving goodbye to the rest of the table.

"I have plans for you," Luke whispered into Reid's ear, sending shivers of anticipation down Reid's spine.

"Can we leave now?" Reid asked hopefully.

"No," Luke replied with a slight pout. "You haven't even danced with me yet."

Reid sighed heavily. He was about to ask Luke to dance when Noah appeared.

"Luke, how about taking a spin around the old dance floor with me?" Noah asked although he already knew that Luke would say yes.

Reid snorted.

Noah ignored Reid.

"Well…" Luke hedged.

"Great," Noah enthused and grabbed Luke's hand and dragged him off to the dance floor.

Luke looked back at Reid to gauge the other man's reaction, but Reid just gave him a half smile.

"Dude, what are you doing? Go and cut in," Casey insisted. "Noah is probably trying to make Luke feel guilty about not letting Noah sit at our table, or something. You've got to rescue him."

"Okay," Reid replied, secretly happy that it now looked like he was doing Luke a favour rather than chasing after the younger man like a jealous boyfriend.

As soon as Reid was out of earshot, Henry shot a look at Casey. "Reid is totally whipped. Did you see him trying to pretend that Noah dancing with Luke didn't bother him," he chuckled.

"Yeah, I know," Casey agreed. "I had to come up with something, or Luke would have been stuck dancing with Noah all night long. Luke is just too nice to tell him to take a hike, but Reid's not!"

Barbara had heard enough about Reid for this evening, she wanted some attention for herself. "Come on Henry; let's show these people how it's done."

"Of course, Beautiful," he responded and stood up to take her hand and lead her onto the dance floor.

"Talk about being whipped," Casey chuckled to himself. He decided to go and get a drink while scoping out the room for a possible dance partner.

As Reid approached Luke and Noah he heard part of their conversation. "You can't really believe that he loves you, can you? How can you be so naïve? You're lucky to have me around to look out for you," Noah concluded, pulling a struggling Luke closer.

"I do love him," Reid responded coldly to Noah. "Do you mind if I cut in?" he asked looking at Luke.

"Yes," Noah huffed, "we were having a private conversation, if you don't mind," but he could feel Luke trying to get away. Noah held Luke tighter.

"As a matter of fact, I do mind," Reid stated glaring at Noah. "Now let go of Luke."

"Please Noah," Luke pleaded. "You need to let me go."

Noah stared at Luke for a long moment. "This isn't over," he warned Reid before stomping back to his table.

"Thanks," Luke whispered into Reid's ear as he allowed his body to melt into the other man's.

"Anytime," Reid answered, actually enjoying dancing with Luke in his arms. "Now, I believe that you said something about having plans for me…"

"Patience," Luke answered. "I promise that I'll make it worth your while."

"Patience is not my best event," Reid complained mildly, pressing his erection into Luke's pelvis for emphasis.

"Mine either," Luke groaned. "Let's go."

Reid smiled to himself as he allowed Luke to lead him around the room as Luke said their goodbye's to everyone at breakneck speed.

"I hope that I wasn't too rude," Luke worried.

"Too rude?" Reid asked perplexed. Then he kissed Luke soundly and Luke forgot about everything and everyone who wasn't Reid.


	32. Chapter 32

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Summary: This is the story of the courtship between Luke and Reid. This is AU, there is no train, and also Chris never had heart problems in this universe, so Reid was not on the elevator with him at the Lakeview.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters, all belong to ATWT and its parent company(ies)

Rating: NC 17 for sexual content and language.

Warning: Unfulfilled light bondage.

A/N: Smut, love and food, but not in that order.

Reid had imagined that Luke was taking him back to the farm or to Lily's, and so was therefore surprised when Luke turned into the Lakeview.

_Oh my God, he has gotten us a room at the Lakeview. I hate hotels. All of those germs from God knows how many people sleeping in those beds. _Reid shuddered involuntarily.

_On the other hand, this is Luke! We will finally have our own space. God I like the sound of that. I just wish it weren't in a hotel. I really need to get my own place._

Luke noticed that Reid was uncomfortable. _Shit, I shouldn't have done this. Noah always said that I interfered. Christ, I just wanted to do something nice for Reid. _

Luke dropped Reid's hand, not wanting to crowd the older man.

"I'm sorry," Luke apologized. "You don't have to stay. I can just take you home."

"What are you talking about?" Reid asked picking up Luke's hand. "I don't want to go home. I want to be with you."

"Are you sure?" Luke asked tentatively.

"Fuck yes!" Reid answered. _Why would he even ask me that?_

The two men got out of the car and headed for the lobby. Luke led them directly to the elevator.

_Oh God the elevator, I haven't been on that death contraption since I got stuck in it with Luke. Please let it not get stuck again._

_Oh my God, the elevator! How could I be so stupid? I totally forgot about Reid freaking out that day we got stuck. Please don't let it get stuck now._

"I'm sorry," Luke murmured. "I'm an idiot. I completely forgot about your claustrophobia."

Reid was touched by the concern he could hear in Luke's voice.

"It's fine Luke," he said, giving Luke's hand a squeeze. "Maybe you could distract me, until we reach our floor."

Luke grinned and felt his whole body start to relax. "Distract you, huh," Luke repeated. "However would I manage that?"

Reid decided it was time to take matters into his own hands and pressed Luke up against the back wall, and kissed him, hard.

Luke responded immediately and pushed his tongue into Reid's open mouth. Reid pushed his right thigh in between Luke's legs and leaned into Luke's hardness.

Luke groaned, deep in his throat, never breaking the kiss.

_This is going to be a great night! Perhaps we won't even make it to the bed. I'm off tomorrow, I can sleep then!_

All too soon the elevator dinged signalling that it had reached their floor.

Luke and Reid managed to pull themselves apart so that they could get off of the elevator and into their room.

A young couple getting onto the elevator gave them a disapproving look, causing Luke to blush and Reid to sneer.

"They're just jealous, because they'll never be as hot as we are," Reid whispered in Luke's ear, making the younger man giggle.

As soon as they reached the door, Luke nervously put the key card into the lock and turned the handle._ Oh my God, I hope he likes it. I hope that he doesn't think that it's too girly. Maybe this was a bad idea._

As Reid entered the room he was completely shocked. His jaw literally dropped as he took in the sight. He had expected a nice hotel room, but somebody, probably Luke himself, had transformed the room into something so much more.

There were red and white rose petals covering the bed, and candles everywhere, which Reid noticed Luke was busily lighting, but there were other things there as well. Things that only Luke would have thought to add. Instead of just having chocolates on the pillows, Luke had placed a bowl of Emma's chocolate chip cookies on the night table on his side of the bed. There was also a copy of the medical journal that he was currently reading sitting beside them. Instead of the traditional fruit basket, there was a basket of what appeared to be Emma's muffins. There was an ice bucket which held a very expensive bottle of champagne as well as two bottles of sparkling water. He noticed a box of GodivaTM chocolates, on Luke's side of the bed.

"Is that your comforter on the bed?" Reid asked in disbelief.

"Um… yes, I know that you don't like hotel bedding so I asked the staff to replace the mattress but not the bedding. I bought new linens, which I washed in your laundry detergent, and then I added new pillows and I brought my comforter from home," Luke explained nervously, as he had no idea what Reid was thinking. _Oh my God, he hates this. I'm such an idi…_

Luke's thoughts were cut off by Reid's lips crashing onto his.

_Luke is the best boyfriend on the planet! No one has ever gone to even a fraction of this much trouble for me. I can't believe he's really mine!_

Reid began fumbling with Luke's belt, and then the button and zipper on Luke's pants. _Geez they don't make these monkey suits easy to get someone out of!_

Finally Luke's pants were undone and resting around the younger man's ankles.

Reid reluctantly broke the kiss and fell to his knees. Luke breathed "Reid," out as he felt his own knees go weak.

Reid steadied Luke and then slowly pulled down Luke's grey silk boxers, allowing Luke to enjoy the fabric as it passed over his thick, leaking dick.

"Reid," Luke groaned, longing for Reid's touch.

Reid took a moment and just stared at Luke's glorious cock, wanting to give Luke as much pleasure as possible. He looked up at Luke, needing to gaze into his lover's eyes, to see the passion and the love that shone through them, only for him.

"God, I love you so much. You own me, Luke Snyder, body and soul," Reid stated in a clear voice, a single tear silently rolling down his face.

Luke beamed at Reid, tears of joy streaming down his beautiful face. "I love you too," he began as Reid took all of him in his mouth. "So, so very much," he managed to whisper before giving in to the incredible sensations coursing through his body.

Reid took his time, lovingly taking Luke to the brink and then pulling back, allowing Luke to calm down before repeating the process until Luke was a quivering mess and Reid finally took Luke over the edge, hearing him scream out Reid's name. Reid greedily swallowed all that Luke had to offer him. Luke collapsed onto Reid, holding onto the older man, feeling safe and loved.

"Fuck me," Luke whispered, once he had regained the power of speech.

"Don't worry, I plan to, but right now I think you need a few minutes to recover," Reid chuckled.

"Yeah," Luke breathed out. "Thank God I'm still young."

Reid just smiled and silently agreed.

A few hours later the boys lay together, completely boneless and sated.

"Well Mr. Snyder, I have to say that I have very much enjoyed your plans!" Reid managed to get out once he had recovered from his latest orgasm. Secretly he was hoping that they were done for the night, but he would never, ever admit that to Luke.

_I would kill for a sandwich right now. I'm ravenous. Thank God Luke brought muffins! I wish they weren't so far away. I really don't feel like getting up right now. Sadly the cookies were long gone._

"I'm glad," Luke said beaming at Reid, before getting out of bed.

"Hey where are you going?" Reid asked, missing Luke's warmth already.

"You'll see," Luke teased and then leaned over to kiss Reid. "I'll be right back."

Luke quickly went into the washroom to get a warm washcloth to clean them both up.

As he began lovingly wiping away the come from Reid's torso, Reid's stomach let out a loud growl.

"Hey, are you hungry?"

Reid nodded. "Yeah, a little bit. Would you mind passing me a muffin?"

"Would you like a sandwich instead?" Luke asked with a knowing smile on his face.

Reid gaped at Luke. "Where are you going to get a sandwich at this time of night?" Reid asked hoping that Luke could make this happen.

Luke shrugged. "There are some sandwiches in the mini bar. I had room service empty out all of the alcohol and fill it with mineral water and sandwiches that Grandma Emma made for us. I know how hungry you get after any sort of…um…physical exertion."

"Oh my God Luke, you had Emma make sandwiches for us?" Reid asked, elated.

"It's just sandwiches Reid, it's no big deal. I just wanted to do something nice to celebrate with you," Luke answered shyly.

"Just sandwiches?" Reid asked, perplexed. "Luke, you are amazing! Thank you for doing all of this for me!" he stated before kissing Luke soundly.

Luke smiled and retrieved a plate of sandwiches for Reid, and a bottle of water for each of them.

"So," Reid asked, his mouth full of food, what were we going to do if I didn't become the Chief of Staff?"

"Like that was ever going to happen," Luke smiled at Reid. "If the unthinkable occurred I would have brought you here to cheer you up," Luke finished with a shrug.

The next morning Luke woke up to find Reid staring at him, with a dreamy look on his face.

"Do you always stare at me while I'm sleeping? It's kind of creepy," Luke teased.

"Good morning to you too, Luke," Reid replied, not about to apologize for his staring.

Luke leaned over and kissed Reid's neck. "Morning," he whispered huskily.

"Shower," Reid insisted.

"Shower," Luke agreed.

Before getting into the shower, by tacit agreement, they both stopped and brushed their teeth. Luke had, of course packed toiletries for the pair of them. Grinning at each other like idiots in the mirror, they quickly finished and got into the shower.

"You like it hot, right?" Luke asked with a knowing smile.

"Very hot," Reid concurred.

Luke had just finished adjusting the temperature when he felt two strong arms enfold him from behind. He was half expecting Reid to push into him immediately and was surprised when he realized that Reid was cleaning him instead.

Luke turned his head, slightly so that he could kiss Reid, and get things started, but Reid had other ideas.

Reid accepted Luke's kiss, but didn't allow Luke's tongue entry into his mouth. Reid pulled away and kept his mouth out of Luke's reach.

Luke pouted, and Reid averted his eyes, in order to avoid being distracted.

"You are a dirty, dirty boy and I am going to make sure that I clean you up," Reid whispered lasciviously into Luke's ear.

Luke shivered and gave himself over to Reid's ministrations.

Reid took his time soaping Luke up. Paying special attention to Luke's beautiful ass, Luke gasped as Reid dropped to his knees to inspect his work.

Reid pulled Luke's cheeks open so that he could stare at the beautiful rose bud that was winking at him.

"I think this needs special attention," he murmured, before allowing just the tip of his tongue to enter into Luke.

"Reeeeiiiiiiiiidddd," Luke moaned desperately wanting Reid to go in deeper.

Reid chuckled deep in his throat, sending more vibrations into Luke's ass.

Reid loved eating Luke's ass, and this morning he was determined to take his time so that they could both thoroughly enjoy it.

Reid removed the tip of his tongue from inside of Luke and began to slowly lick the outer ring of muscle. Meanwhile he allowed his hands to roam free, grazing Luke's butt and tracing small circles on his inner thighs.

Luke was quickly becoming undone as Reid was causing so many delicious sensations to course through his body; he was forced to use both of his hands for support.

Reid would have liked to torture Luke some more, but he was too turned on to hold back any further. He pushed is tongue inside of Luke's hole, and began exploring Luke's channel in earnest.

"Yesssssssss," Luke hissed as his body quivered under Reid's skilful tongue. He pushed his ass down, willing Reid to delve deeper.

Reid obliged swirling and poking his tongue alternatively, thoroughly enjoying the sounds that Luke was unable to hold inside.

While his tongue continued its exploration, one of his hands reached through Luke's legs and began tugging at Luke's balls.

"Nnnnnnghhhhhh," Luke moaned, incoherently. "Stop…Reid…need you…now!" Luke managed to say.

Reid removed his hand, but left his tongue lazily stretching Luke's hole, while he groped around for the condom he had brought with him. Grasping it at last, he blindly tore open the condom and rolled it down his achingly hard cock. He then reluctantly pulled his tongue out of Luke's ass.

"Hurry…up…." Luke demanded, shakily. "Fuck me now!"

Reid lined himself up and pushed all the way into Luke. He grabbed onto Luke's hips and set a quick pace. Luke reached around with one hand and grabbed on to Reid's ass encouraging Reid to go faster. Reid obliged, and kept changing the angle slightly until Luke cried out, "yes, fuck me there!"

Having found Luke's sweet spot, Reid pounded into the younger man, ensuring that he hit it with each thrust.

When Reid could feel that he was close he reached one of his hands around to take Luke's cock into his hand and jerk him off in time with his thrusts.

"Reeeeiiiiiiiddddd," Luke cried. "So close…looovveee yooouu," he screamed as his come exploded out of him. His orgasm ripping through his entire body, his ass clenching Reid's cock taking the older man over the edge with him.

The two of them collapsed against the shower wall, each of them lost in ecstasy.

Reid covered Luke's body with his own, needing to feel close to the younger man as he gently pulled out and removed the condom.

"Are you okay? You must be kind of sore," Reid commented, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

Luke turned his head and smiled at Reid. "Are you kidding me? That was incredible. I'm a little tender, but I kind of like it," Luke said, blushing. "I like that sensation, because it makes me feel close to you, even when we're not together. Oh God, I sound like a girl," he finished nervously, feeling like an idiot.

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke lovingly on the lips. "You most definitely do not sound like a girl! I love that you like feeling me even when I'm not there."

The two men finished showering, managing to get clean. Luke reached out of the shower and handed Reid a fluffy white towel.

"Don't worry Reid, these are brand new too. I bought them when I bought the sheets."

"You are incredible, Luke."

Luke beamed at him and wrapped himself in a fresh towel too.

When they got out of the shower, Reid eyed the robes that were hanging there. _I wonder if Luke bought these too. I don't want to ask, because it will just make him feel guilty if he didn't. _

"The one with R embroidered on it is yours," Luke stated catching the other man's gaze.

"What, you couldn't remember how to spell the rest of my name?" Reid teased as he slipped the robe on and then held the one with the L out for Luke to step into.

Reid turned Luke around and held onto the other man's hands while he looked the younger man in the eye. "Thank you Luke, for everything," he said simply, he just didn't have the words to adequately express his gratitude. Luke beamed back at Reid feeling incredibly loved by this amazing man. "You're welcome," Luke whispered before crashing his lips into Reid's.

An hour and a half later, as they sat there finishing up the breakfast that room service had sent up, Luke started caressing Reid's thigh that was peeking out of his robe. "I have an idea," Luke whispered softly.

Reid raised his eyebrows. "What exactly do you have in mind, Mr. Snyder?"

Luke blushed furiously, but soldiered on. "I was thinking that I might… um… use… these belts, to….um… tie… your hands," he paused. "I mean we don't have to, but I'm feeling a bit sore, and well I thought that it might be fun…"

Reid kissed him hard and then silently handed Luke his belt.

Luke beamed, "let's go," he ordered confidently.

Luke had just secured Reid's left hand when Reid's beeper went off.

"Fuck, I have to get that. Can you pass it to me?"

"Sure," Luke responded passing it to Reid.

"Fuck, it's Bob. He needs to see both of us ASAP. I'm sorry Luke, but I think that we had better go."

"No problem," he responded, quickly untying Reid's hand, trying to hide his disappointment.

Reid cupped Luke's cheek in his hand. "To be continued?"

Luke nodded happily. "Definitely to be continued."

"You didn't happen to bring any clothes for me, did you? I don't really want to do the walk of shame at the hospital."

Luke laughed. "Of course I brought clothes for you. Look in the middle drawer. I wasn't sure what you would feel like wearing so I bought you a selection of new clothes."

Reid just shook his head at Luke's thoughtfulness. "You are too much, Luke. You didn't need to buy me anything you could have just taken some clothes from my place, or leant me something of yours."

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Luke shrugged. "Besides, you know that I can afford it. I am Richie Rich, after all."

"That you are," Reid nodded. "By the way, how long did you book the hotel for? Do we need to pack everything up now? It must be close to checkout time."

Luke blushed again. "Um… I thought that maybe we could stay here for a few days," he said hanging his head to avoid eye contact with Reid.

Reid grabbed him and kissed him, "an excellent plan, Mr. Snyder!"


	33. Chapter 33

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Bob, and Lynne

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid. This story is AU.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All belong to ATWT and its parent company(ies). All mistakes are mine.

Rating: PG

A/N This chapter explains the dossier's that Chris had at his apartment. I have no medical training so I have just made up the medical stuff to fit this story.

Luke and Reid hurried over to Memorial, wondering what on earth Bob would need to speak to the two of them about.

As soon as they arrived at Bob's office, Lynne ushered them in. Luke and Reid just looked at each other. Luke gave Reid's hand a reassuring squeeze, although he wasn't sure who he was trying to comfort, Reid or himself.

Reid just shrugged in response.

"Thank you both for coming over so quickly," Bob greeted them solemnly.

Reid just stared at Bob waiting for him to continue.

"Is everything alright, Bob? You seem very upset," Luke offered realizing that Bob was deeply distressed, his clothes were rumpled and his eyes were rimmed in red..

"I'm afraid that I have some terrible news for the two of you, and I'm not really sure where to begin."

"Does this have anything to do with me being the Chief of Staff? Are you telling me that I no longer hold that position?" Reid inquired, his whole body suddenly tensing.

Bob shook his head. "No, this doesn't have anything to do with the hospital, really. Your position is safe and I am sure that you will do a brilliant job."

"Does this have something to do with Chris?" Luke asked gently.

Bob let out a deep sigh. "Yes, I'm afraid that it does."

Reid just gaped at Bob, wondering why the other man wanted to talk to him about Chris. He realized that Bob was going to beg Reid to keep Chris on staff.

"Bob, I'm sorry but I just don't see how I could possibly keep Chris on my staff. He clearly has no respect for me or for the boards' decision. I know that he's your son, but I will simply have to fire him," Reid stated and got up to leave.

"Sit down," Bob stated, harshly. "It seems that I am going to have to explain more to you than I thought. Chris was taken to Deerbrooke last night," he paused, "as a patient." Luke and Reid took a moment to exchange a surprised glance, and then turned their attention back to Bob. "I had hoped that he had just had a minor breakdown and would soon be able to return to Oakdale."

"I'm so sorry, Bob. We didn't know, we just thought that he had gone home to cool off. I thought that he had probably just had too much to drink," Luke offered.

"I wish that was all that it had been, but unfortunately the situation was even more serious than I had realized. I didn't go home last night after the retirement dinner; instead I went over to Chris's apartment. I told Kim that I was just going over to pack a few more things for him, but really I was there on a fishing expedition."

"What were you looking for?" Reid asked, his curiosity piqued, as it was obvious that Bob had found it.

"Well, when we made it clear that he was going to the mental hospital, as a patient, Christopher insisted that he needed something from home. He became agitated, when I explained that Kim had already packed a bag for him. I knew then that there was something that he wanted with him, and I wondered what it could be."

"And now you know, and you wish that you didn't," Reid surmised. "This something has to do with Luke and me, doesn't it? That's why we're here." Reid stated.

"Yes," Bob replied, feeling older than he ever had before. He pointed to two file folders that were on his desk. One was very thick while the other one was quite slim. "It appears that Christopher had developed a sick obsession with you back in med school that never abated. He has some old school newspaper clippings with stories about your brilliance that he has written 'that should have been me' in the margins of. He ranted at length about how you had cheated to win the fellowship and that you needed to be stopped.

"He has notes on all of your cases. It's clear that he resented each and every one of your successes. Your failures, though few, seemed to give him hope. There is evidence in this file that he may have contacted Mr. Judd and suggested the malpractice suit."

"How would he have managed to get a hold of Mr. Judd? It seems unlikely that there would only be one in Dallas, and cold calling would have taken away his credibility," Luke interjected.

"I'm not sure how he would have managed it," Bob admitted.

"I know how he could have done it," Reid answered quietly. "He probably called Sam Fletcher, Annie's paediatrician. Sam and I went to med school together, and since I now know that Chris was there too, it's likely that he and Sam were friendly. Chris probably phoned him up under false pretences and retrieved the Judd's number."

"That would explain it. He probably then called Mr. Judd and took advantage of the poor soul's grief." Bob sadly acknowledged. "Chris was furious, according to some of the writing's in this file, that you were cleared of the charges and thus kept your medical license."

"I honestly don't even remember him from med school. We probably had some of the same classes, but I mainly kept to myself and studied my butt off. I was there to become the best doctor that I could be, and I didn't really become close friends with anyone. I vaguely remember there being a few articles about me, but they mostly had to do with me winning the fellowship. Some people thought that I had cheated and demanded an investigation as you know. Do you think that Chris instigated that too?"

"Yes," Bob admitted quietly. "I think that he resented you from the beginning simply because he expected to be the big man on campus. He was always very sociable and he very much enjoyed being popular. He was always bright, and being from a small town like Oakdale there wasn't that much competition, so he was used to winning all of the academic awards. Looking back I think that he took too much pride in those awards, and felt that he was entitled to the accolades, and didn't really imagine that he had any competition, because here he really didn't. Harvard, as you know, is not like Oakdale. It is highly competitive having some of the best minds in the country vying for top marks. I told Christopher before he went that it was going to be a challenge, and that he should focus on doing his best, not being the best. I honestly thought that he had accepted that, but seeing this file it is clear to me that he saw you getting the attention and accolades that he felt he deserved. As a result he blamed you for being more successful that he was."

"I honestly had no idea, Bob. When I met him here he was hostile toward me, but then lots of people don't like me, so it wasn't something I particularly paid attention to. I only became concerned when he started being nice to me. I couldn't put my finger on it, but he made me uneasy. He seemed to be overly concerned with my relationship with Luke, so I asked Luke not to tell him that we were together. We didn't actively hide our relationship, but we became careful not to flaunt it in front of Chris."

"As it turns out you were very wise to do that," Bob acknowledged as he pointed to the slimmer file folder. "This is a dossier that he had started putting together on Luke. It seems that he felt that it was Luke that saved your medical license in Dallas. According to this file he plotted with Alison to split the two of you up, and to solidify things he wanted you to get back together with Noah. He seemed to believe that Luke was both your lucky charm and your Achilles heel. I think that he felt that if you two broke up, your life would somehow be ruined and he would be able to secure the position of Chief of Staff."

Luke was shocked. "I'm so sorry that you are suffering, Bob. I truly hope that Chris gets the help that he needs."

"Thank you Luke. I hope that he is able to get better as well, but I want to assure you both that I have couriered copies of these files to Deerbrooke and I will make sure that he is not released until several psychiatrists deem him sane," Bob finished with a tear in his eye, knowing fully well that, in all likelihood, Christopher would be institutionalized for the rest of his natural life.

Reid understood what Bob was saying and felt badly for his mentor, but he also felt tremendous relief that Chris was locked up so that Luke was safe.

"Bob, I would really like to look through the dossiers on my own. Would you mind making copies for me?" Reid asked, needing to know exactly what had been going through Chris's mind.

"I've already made copies for you," Bob answered pointing to a cardboard box in the corner. "You may take them with you and go through them at length. I would appreciate any insight you may have to offer after reading them."

Reid nodded.

"Please let us know if there is anything either of us can do to help," Luke offered generously.

"I will," Bob smiled. "Thank you for your concern."

Luke and Reid got up to leave, but Bob stopped them. "I'm so sorry that I didn't realize earlier just how sick Christopher is. I knew that he was competitive with you, but I didn't really think that there was anything wrong with that. In fact, I was a proud, I thought that he was striving to be as dedicated a doctor as you are, it wasn't until I heard about him talking to the board that I realized he felt entitled to the position and wasn't at all interested in putting in the hard work that you do on a regular basis."

"Bob the important thing is that Chris is getting the help that he needs," Luke offered. "You aren't to blame for Chris's illness. Reid and I are fine, the hospital is fine, and hopefully Chris will be fine too, one day soon."

Bob nodded and shook their hands and bid them good bye.

Once the two had left Bob's office, Luke put his arm around Reid's shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I think so. What about you?" Reid replied.

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's frightening to think that Chris has been obsessed with you for such a long time, without anyone realizing how sick he truly was."

"Mental illness is tricky to diagnose, especially a case like Chris's where he was obsessed with one person. He was able to mask his psychosis more easily because we haven't had any contact until now. My coming to Oakdale, his hometown, working for his father, probably escalated his condition."

"Please don't blame yourself. You are not responsible for his actions," Luke stated.

"I'm not, I promise. I am just grateful that he is getting the help he needs far away from us. I can only imagine what he might have done next had he been allowed to remain free. I have a lot of respect for Bob for assessing the situation objectively and taking the necessary steps. That can't have been easy."

Luke leaned in and kissed Reid warmly. "Look at you being all compassionate for Bob," Luke teased lightly. "So do you want to go back to the hotel and scour the dossiers or do you want to go to Al's for some food?"

Reid hesitated, but only for a moment. "Let's go to Al's," he responded, the files would keep.

End Notes: I don't really plan to spend any more time on the dossier's I just thought that Reid would definitely want to read each and every page.

Again I don't have any medical training, so this is all just fabricated to fit this story.


	34. Chapter 34

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other characters: Henry and Noah.

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid. This story is AU.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They all belong to ATWT and its parent company(ies). All mistakes are mine.

Rating: PG

Warning: There is a lot of Noah in this chapter! Sorry but I felt that it had to be done!

A/N Sorry for the delay on this one. Dance season has begun…Dun dun dun! Last weekend actually made me nostalgic for Cheer! Who knew? To all my fellow dance mom's I wish you a stress free season filled with easy costumes, beautiful hair and easy make up applications. I also hope that none of your dancers incur an injury. (I'm dealing with feet and ankle issues…yay?) Good luck to all!

When Luke and Reid got to Al's the first person they saw was Noah.

"Luke," Noah exclaimed, trying to hug Luke. "I'm so happy to see you! I've got really exciting news. It's going to rock your world."

Reid snickered.

Noah squinted at the doctor and then quickly went back to ignoring him.

Luke, having successfully avoided the hug, was wondering what the best way to get rid of him was.

"So Noah, Reid and I were just about to get something to eat. Maybe we could get a coffee together some time," Luke tried as he steered Reid toward a booth and sat down beside him.

"No problem, Luke. I'll just join you, I haven't eaten yet and I'm starving," Noah replied amiably.

Luke groaned inwardly.

Reid just stared at Noah and muttered "idiot," audibly.

Noah squinted at Reid.

"You don't have to stay, you know Reid. Luke and I have some very important things to discuss."

Reid snorted. "Gee thanks for that, but you know what Noah? Luke actually invited me, so I'm staying."

"Suit yourself," Noah replied smugly.

Luke felt a migraine coming on. "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom," Luke stated as he stood up.

Reid looked at him hopefully, but Luke shook his head, almost imperceptively.

As soon as Luke was out of earshot, Noah turned his attention to Reid.

"You think that you've won, don't you? Well I'm here to tell you that you're wrong, dead wrong," Noah began. "Luke and I are meant to be together forever. He promised me that he would love me forever, and I intend to see that he keeps his word. The news that I'm about to share with him is going to change everything, You two may have great sex together, but that's all it is, nothing more. What I share with Luke goes way beyond the physical; we have an almost spiritual bond."

"Uh huh," Reid responded, not bothering to correct Noah's stupidity.

"Besides our special connection, his whole family loves me. Everyone knows that Luke and I are soul mates," he finished triumphantly just as Luke came back to the table.

"What soul mates are you talking about Noah," Luke asked after giving Reid a kiss on the lips.

"Us," Noah replied without even a second's hesitation.

"Us?" Luke asked feeling confused.

"Noah was just telling me about your 'special connection' and how the two of you are 'soul mates' and that 'you belong together,'" Reid explained using air quotes, for the first time that he could ever recall.

Luke laughed assuming that Reid was messing with him.

Noah squinted at Luke. "Seriously, Luke? You know we belong together. I know that you are infatuated with Reid and all the sex you've been having," he took a moment to frown disapprovingly at the pair. "But deep down you know that we belong together."

The laughter died on Luke's lips and he was left gaping at Noah realizing that Noah actually believed what he was saying.

"Noah," he began patiently. "We don't belong together, we probably never did. We just don't fit. It's nobody's fault, it just is. We're just too different."

"What do you mean we're too different? We're perfect for each other!"

Luke sighed. "Noah I loved you I really did, and I still do…"

"See, you love me. I knew it," Noah interrupted. "Now let me tell you my big news. I earned a grant for my film so we can move to California, just like we always planned. Isn't that amazing?"

"Congratulations Noah, that's great news. I'm really proud of you," Luke smiled warmly at Noah, part of him thankful that Noah was leaving town.

"Isn't that the film that you finished?" Reid asked Luke pointedly.

"It was nothing, Reid. I just followed Noah's notes, so the award truly belongs to him."

"It's my grant!" Noah reaffirmed. "So they are expecting me in California in a week and a half but I was hoping that we could leave next Wednesday. So make sure that you are packed and ready to go, okay?"

Reid and Luke just stared at Noah.

"Noah, I'm really happy for you, but I'm not going with you. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't leave that quickly. I am still running Grimaldi shipping and I have a seat on the hospital board and Reid and I are working on the neurowing. My life is here."

"Luke, don't be ridiculous. You don't really run Grimaldi shipping, you're really just a figurehead installed by Damian. The hospital board will be fine without you; I mean you don't know anything about medicine or running a hospital. I'm sure Reid is more than capable of setting up the neurowing without you. I'm sure that you've just gotten in the way."

"Thanks for that, Noah!" Luke said, deeply insulted.

"Hey," Noah started. "I'm just telling the truth. Everybody knows that you don't really have a career."

Reid had had enough. "Noah, you are an idiot. Luke has been a huge help in setting up the neurowing. He has had lots of really great ideas that I would never have thought of. Bob, personally asked Luke to reclaim his seat on the board, a move that he would hardly make if he didn't value Luke's opinions, I can't speak for the shipping company, but it seems to be doing fairly well, so that success has to be attributed, at least in part, to Luke. For you to sit here and belittle him is just unconscionable. Why would he ever want to go with you anywhere?"

"He loves me, he said so. Luke, are you going to let Reid speak to me like this? I really think that you should be defending me,"

"I'm sure that you do. However, I happen to agree with Reid. This is why we didn't fit together Noah. You never took me seriously. I was always left begging for your attention. You always thought that you and your needs were more important than mine. You always made me feel less than you. That's not a healthy basis for a relationship."

Noah squinted at Luke. "Are you honestly trying to tell me that Reid treats you like an equal? You can't be serious. He is a world renowned neurosurgeon, and you, well you're just Luke. How could you possibly be equals?"

"Oh my God, Noah do you even listen to yourself when you speak? Luke is my equal because he is a valuable human being. He is the greatest person that has ever come into my life. Why on earth would you think that he was less important than I am? Only a moron would think that," Reid answered, wishing that Noah would just disappear.

Luke beamed at Reid, amazed and proud to be with him.

Noah looked at Luke and for the first time he saw the love that Luke had for Reid burning in Luke's eyes.

"Well you might be happy now, but just wait until Luke gets all demanding and controlling. You're going to hate that," Noah warned.

"Noah, that's one of the many differences between us. I love it when Luke is demanding it makes me feel important. When he takes control he is unstoppable, and that's just the way I like it," Reid stated fixing Noah with a knowing grin.

Noah blushed. "I wasn't talking sexually. God can't you think about anything else for five seconds. I mean he will try to 'help' you by buying something for you that you don't need or want and expect you to be grateful for it."

"Uh huh," Reid said, clearly unconvinced. "Did you know that Luke went out and had a tuxedo hand tailored for me, without even telling me?"

"Yes," Noah nodded triumphantly. "That's just the type of thing that I'm talking about. He is totally controlling in that way."

"Yes well, the difference is that I loved that he did that for me. He took care of everything. He made sure that I would be dressed appropriately and he didn't expect anything from me in return, other than a thank you. Don't you know how rare that is?"

"You liked that?" Noah asked, disbelievingly.

"Yes, I really did," Reid answered smiling at Luke.

"That's why we don't belong together. You were always trying to change me, and I suppose that I was trying to change you too. We couldn't give each other what we needed. I hope that you're happy out in LA. I truly wish you all the best Noah."

"This is it? You're really choosing him over me?" Noah asked as the magnitude of the situation finally dawned on him.

"Noah, I'm not choosing him over you. I'm choosing him over everyone. We're together, you know that. We have been over for a long time. You pushed me away, you didn't want me in your life, and now I'm not. I hope that we can be friends, but that's it."

"Luke, I know I pushed you away, but I didn't mean for it to be permanent. I just needed some space. Can't you understand that?" Noah exclaimed. "I had to push you away, you were smothering me. You remember how he was, you were there, even you could see that I needed some space to breathe," Noah stated looking for Reid to back him up.

"I remember wondering why you didn't want Luke's love and support while you were going through such a difficult ordeal. I remember thinking that you were an idiot for throwing that kind of love away. Watching you hurt him, over and over again, often made me wish that I had been the blind one so that I wouldn't have to watch him suffer."

Noah had conveniently forgotten about that part of Reid's lecture when they broke off their professional ties.

"Well, you really didn't understand anything about our relationship, so you have no right to judge," Noah answered haughtily.

"Noah whether you intended us to be broken up forever or not, the fact is we are," Luke stated firmly, holding onto Reid's hand for moral support.

"What about your family? Do you really think that they are going to accept Reid? They all love me," Noah spluttered desperately.

"Of course my family loves you, Noah. In fact, I'm sure that they will want to give you a going away party," Luke responded. "Some of them will probably want to visit you when you are in California."

Reid smirked and rolled his eyes.

"But they love me too, and they want me to be happy. Reid makes me happy, so of course they accept him," Luke finished.

"You're sure about this, aren't you?" Noah asked, still feeling slightly shell shocked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Luke stated firmly.

"Well, I guess that I should get going then," Noah added feeling dejected. "Maybe you could come out to LA with me to help get me settled in?" he asked hopefully. "Just as friends," he added quickly, noting the look of distrust on Reid's face.

"I'm sorry, Noah, but I really can't. I honestly have responsibilities here," Luke answered patiently.

"Okay," he grumbled. "Well I guess I'll see you before I go."

"Okay, sounds good. I'll talk to my mom and help her organize a big send off for you. I'll text you with the details," Luke said as Noah sadly got up to leave.

Moments later Henry walked over with two plates of food.

"What's up with Noah? When he sat down with you two he looked like the cat that swallowed the canary, but when he left he looked like someone had just run over his puppy," Henry wanted to know.

"Well, Noah seemed to think that he was going to whisk Luke off to California and movie magic with him and well now he knows that Luke is staying here…with me," Reid answered succinctly.

"Why would he think that Luke would run away with him?" Hank mused aloud.

"Because he's a moron," Reid replied with a shrug.

"Reid," Luke interjected. "Noah is just starting to accept that we are really over. I think he was waiting for me to come crawling back to him. I guess that he didn't really believe that Reid and I are a real couple."

"Wow," Henry exclaimed. "Noah really is an idiot. I mean, no offense, but you two are not exactly known for your um discretion."

"Told you so," Reid said around a mouthful of food.

"Noah's not a moron," Luke stated, charitably. "He just wasn't ready to let go of us. Hopefully, he is now otherwise he won't ever allow himself to be happy."

"Luke Snyder, you are way too nice," Henry chuckled. "Don't take advantage of him," he warned Reid waggling a finger at him.

"I make no promises," Reid replied leaning over to kiss Luke lovingly, who giggled briefly, but returned the kiss.

End Notes: So Noah will finally have the epiphany that I mentioned earlier at the going away party. That will also be Noah's last chapter! The story is almost over. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read this!


	35. Chapter 35

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Noah, Casey, Lily, Emma and assorted party guests.

Summary: This is the story of the courtship of Luke and Reid.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters, they all belong to ATWT and its parent company(ies). All mistakes are mine!

Rating PG

A/N I don't remember if Casey knew that Luke wrote Noah's vows for his wedding to Ameera or not, but for purposes of this story he didn't. Also I know that Casey did criticize Noah around the time of the dreaded wedding on the show, but in this verse he is having a go for the first time.

This one is dedicated to Marsabi for her birthday on Friday. Happy Birthday! I hope you have a great day!

As soon as Luke broke the news about Noah going to LA, Lily began to cry. She was proud of him, of course, but the thought of having Noah so far away made her extremely sad. As soon as she stopped crying, she called Emma, whom she knew would prepare all of the food as well as open her home for the going away party.

Thus on Saturday afternoon Luke showed up early at the farm to help Emma set up.

"You're sure that people know that this is not a sit down dinner, right?" Emma worried.

"Yes, Grandma," Luke soothed. "I'm sure. Besides it looks like you have enough food here to feed a small army, or you know, Reid," Luke teased.

"Oh my goodness, I forgot how much Reid likes to eat. You don't think that he'll have to go home hungry do you?" Emma fretted.

"No Grandma, even Reid reaches critical mass when he eats your food, although he would never, ever admit that. You have no idea how proud he is of his amazing metabolism," Luke chuckled, rolling his eyes.

As Emma finished preparing the food, Luke busied himself hanging the decorations. He was just admiring his handy work when the doorbell rang. He was expecting to see Noah and his mom at the door, but instead it was Casey.

"Hey Luke, I came by a little early to see if you needed any help, but I see that you have everything under control," Casey stated as he stepped into the house and admired the decorations. "The place looks great."

"Thanks Case,"

Just then, Emma appeared from the kitchen. "Did I hear the door? Are people starting to arrive?"

"Relax Grandma, it's just Casey and he came to help. Is it time to put out the food?"

"Yes," Emma nodded her head vigorously. "But no tasting – just set the dishes out on the tables."

"Yes Ma'am," the boys answered in unison.

As soon as she placed the last dish on the table, the doorbell rang again.

"I'll get it," Luke stated, hurrying toward the door.

Noah and Lily stood in the doorway, smiling at Luke.

"We thought that we should come early to help out," Noah stated. "I mean I know the party is for me, but I didn't want to put you to too much trouble."

Luke groaned inwardly. "Thanks," he answered aloud. "Casey, Grandma and I managed to get it all done."

"Oh," Noah replied looking slightly taken aback. "So this is _all_ the decorations then?"

"Yes," Luke answered, his eyes narrowing.

"Well you did a good job. I would have added fresh flowers, you know, to brighten the place up, but I guess everything looks fine."

"Sweetie, I thought I told you to order flowers. Didn't you get my email?" Lily questioned Luke.

"Yes Mom," Luke replied through gritted teeth. "When I responded to it, I stated that I thought we had enough decorations without them, and that if they were really important to you, then you would need to organize them yourself."

"Oh Baby," Lily simpered. "I didn't have time to read your email. I just assumed that you would take care of the details like you said you would."

"Don't worry, Luke. Everything looks fine," Noah replied trying to smooth things over.

Just then the doorbell rang, saving Luke from hearing anymore criticism.

"Saved by the bell," he muttered to himself.

Soon the farmhouse was filled with guests happily eating Emma's food and wishing Noah well.

Lily found herself mingling with the guests bragging about her 'son' who was off to take Hollywood by storm.

Noah was basking in the praise and well wishes from all of his friends.

"Thanks Luke," he said warmly. "This is a fantastic party."

"I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself. I really hope that you'll be happy in California."

"I'd be happier if you came with me," Noah wheedled.

"Noah, please don't," Luke pleaded. "We've already been through this,"

"I know, I just want to be clear that my invitation will always be open to you," he said squinting at Luke.

"Luke, do you know when your nice young man will be joining us?" Emma asked, giving her grandson a little hug.

"I'm right here," Noah answered

"Hi Noah," Emma answered as graciously as she could. "I was referring to that dreamy Dr. Oliver," she finished with just the hint of a sigh.

"Reid?" Noah asked, clearly shocked. "Why would he be coming? Surely he wasn't invited to this. This party is all about me, and I don't like that boyfriend stealing doctor."

The room was suddenly silent, as Noah's voice had gotten quite loud in his anger. Everyone was waiting to hear Luke's response.

"Grandma, Reid should be here any minute," Luke answered calmly. "He had an emergency surgery, which is why he's running late." The guests went back to chatting amongst themselves.

"I've put aside some food for him so please send him to me when he gets here."

"I will," Luke answered before turning his attention back to Noah.

Noah just squinted at Luke. "How could you do this to me? Why would you invite _**him**_ to my party? I thought that you _cared_ about me."

Luke sighed wearily. "I do care about you, Noah, but Reid is my family. I would never have a party for anyone and not include him. I thought that you understood that."

"Well I don't understand," he huffed, before turning on his heel and heading out the door.

Moments later, just as he had expected, Noah heard footsteps behind him. "I knew that Luke would follow me out here, he always follows me," he thought smugly.

"Noah," he heard, but it wasn't Luke's voice, He spun around and found himself squinting at Casey.

"Dude, what the hell was that?"

"Casey, stay out of this! Luke's going to be here any minute and I don't want you getting in the way of our reconciliation," he finished sharply.

"Seriously?" Casey responded. "Dude, you are totally delusional if you think that you and Luke are ever going to reconcile. Luke isn't coming after you; he's inside probably still playing tonsil hockey with Reid."

"What?" Noah asked. "Luke just let me walk out and now he's kissing Reid. Doesn't he know how upset I am? How could he do this to me?"

"Dude, he's in love with Reid, and Reid is totally in love with him. If you ever loved Luke at all you should be happy for him, because you know that if the situation was reversed, Luke would be happy for you."

"But I want him to be happy with me, like it was before. Don't you remember how great we were together? Luke and I belong together. Why doesn't anyone realize that?"

"Dude, I'm your friend, and as your friend I am going to tell you the truth," Casey said, motioning for Noah to sit down on the bench with him. "Luke was never as happy with you as he is with Reid. You two were never really good together. You kept hurting him and he kept coming back for more. If I'm honest with you it was pretty painful to watch."

"What are you talking about? We loved each other!" Noah responded, squinting at Casey. "We were happy, for Christ's sake… we were!"

"You two were never happy, you were always breaking up. Dude it was seriously messed up."

"So we broke up a few times. Lots of couples break-up the important thing is that we _always_ get back together."

"Uh huh, well not this time." Casey stated

"What makes you so sure?"

"Dude, get a clue. You pushed Luke away one too many times and now he is gone for good. From what I can see he's much better off without you."

"How can you say that? I thought you were my friend."

"I am your friend, but I'm Luke's best friend, and you've hurt him way too many times."

"What do you mean? I love Luke, I always have. I've never meant to hurt him."

Casey just stared at Noah, dumbfounded. "Did you lose your memory when you got your eye-sight back?"

"No! Of course not," Noah stated angrily.

"You got Luke and I expelled from college – that hurt him."

"I couldn't lie for Luke, he did the wrong thing and he knew it."

"You married Ameera and made all of us lie to immigration for you."

"I saved her life. Luke understood how important that was, he even wrote my vows."

"He wrote your vows? Jesus Noah, you're even more of a prick than I realized. Why did you have to put him through that as well? Did you even look at Luke's face that day? He was DEVASTATED! Probably because you were saying the words that he had written, hoping that you would say them to HIM, but instead you were saying them to someone else!"

"I was saving a life. That was the important thing."

"You rejected him for two years. TWO YEARS, before finally giving in and agreeing to have sex with him. Do you have any idea how much damage you did to his psyche?"

"I wanted it to mean something, for it to be perfect when we had sex," Noah defended himself, squirming slightly.

"Whatever Dude," Casey continued. "You made him feel unattractive and unsure of himself. Nice! Then when Brian made a pass at Luke, you didn't believe him, making him feel even more insecure."

"Brian was sophisticated, and he was engaged to Lucinda, I couldn't imagine that he would be attracted to Luke," Noah admitted. "I thought that he was just trying to get my attention."

"Do you even hear yourself, Noah? Why couldn't you imagine another man being attracted to Luke? He's hot. I'm not gay and even I can see that anyone would be drawn to him. Why would Luke need to make something up just to get your attention?"

"I tried to give Luke my attention, but even you have to admit that he's a pretty needy guy. I had my career to think about. It's not easy trying to be a director, you know."

"Luckily he's with a brain surgeon/chief of staff now, because God knows that's not a demanding career," Casey answered sarcastically.

"Do you honestly think that Reid is going to have enough time to give to Luke?" Noah snorted.

"Yes," Casey answered emphatically. "Luke is Reid's priority and Luke knows that. You made Luke needy by constantly pushing him away whenever things didn't go your way. You constantly kept him off balance, trying to appease you. Luke's biggest problem was that nothing he ever did was good enough. You never appreciated him. He got you the best neurosurgeon in the country, and how did you thank him? By pushing him away, for the millionth time."

"Reid made me do that. He was the one who forced us apart," Noah stated self righteously. "He had a thing for Luke, right from the beginning."

"Noah, don't put this on Reid," Casey stated.

"I needed space and he needed reassurance, what else could I do? He gave me an ultimatum; I had to choose all in or all out. I couldn't be all in so he dumped me."

"Listen to yourself!" Casey exclaimed loudly. "Do you even know Luke at all? Of course he needed you to be all in, because he was all in. He would have done anything, ANYTHING, for you, but you couldn't give that back to him. I'm so proud of him for dumping your sorry ass."

"Casey, you don't understand…"

"I do understand, Noah, clearly better than you do. YOU needed time to yourself so he gave it to you. You're only mad because he didn't come crawling back to you when you had finished looking after your own needs and were finally ready for him. Well, life doesn't work that way. Luke didn't want to be your puppet anymore and now he isn't."

Noah pondered this as well as everything else that Casey had accused him of. 'Was it true? Had he really been a terrible boyfriend to Luke?'

Noah just sat there for several minutes digesting all of what Casey had just said. For the first time he found himself looking at the relationship from Luke's perspective.

"Oh my God I've really lost him, haven't I?" Noah started. "His family became my family, his friends became my friends. Why didn't I see what I was losing? How could I have chosen nothing instead of all with Luke, and not really realized it. I never would have chosen nothing if I had realized that he wouldn't always be waiting for me. I just needed a break, but I never wanted it to be permanent."

Casey rolled his eyes. "Life doesn't work that way, Dude. You can't keep sending someone away and expect them to come back when you decide that you want them. That's ridiculous and Luke deserves much better treatment than that."

"Hey are you guys okay?" Luke asked relieved that he had found them. "People are starting to leave, and they want to say a final good bye to you, Noah."

"Sorry Luke," Noah replied. "Let's go inside."

Luke gave Casey a questioning look, but he just shrugged in response as the three of them walked into the house.

Noah cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "I would like to thank everyone for coming to wish me well today. I would especially like to thank Luke and Lily for organizing this party and Emma for providing all of the fantastic food. I will miss all of you while I am in California, and I'm counting on you guys to come out and visit me. Thanks again for everything."

The guests soon dispersed after hugging both Luke and Noah good bye. Noah suddenly realized that while the party had been for him, the people had come because Luke had invited them. He really had taken Luke for granted and he vowed not to do that again.

"Reid," Noah began tentatively. "Thank you for coming today, I'm sure that you had a million things that you would rather have been doing."

"Um," Reid started, shocked that Noah was being civil. "I was happy to come to send you on your way."

"Yeah, I guess so," Noah said and started to turn away.

"Wait," Reid stopped him. "I have something for you. I phoned a colleague of mine in LA and told him to expect your call. He's an excellent neurologist and will be able to refer you to any other doctor's that you need," Reid explained as he wrote down some information on a business card.

Noah didn't want to accept it, but he did want to remain friends with Luke, so he swallowed his pride and took the card. "Thanks," Noah said simply.

"Is everything okay in here?" Luke asked as he felt the tension between the two men.

"Yeah," they answered together.

"Luke, can I talk to you for a few minutes?" Noah asked quietly. "You can stay if you'd like," he said to Reid.

Reid and Luke shared a look and Luke gave the slightest of nods. "No that's okay; Emma told me she had put some more food away, just for me. I don't want to miss out. I hope that it's the smoked salmon spread and/or the crab dip. What that woman can do with appetizers is beyond sublime," Reid said before kissing Luke and heading off to find Emma.

"Does he ever stop eating?" Noah joked.

"Only when he's sleeping or operating," Luke replied with a smile.

"Where does he put it all?"

"I have no idea," Luke shook his head. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well…uh…I just wanted to apologize to you Luke. Casey pointed out that I wasn't the most considerate boyfriend, and I really am sorry for all of the pain that I caused you."

Luke could see the tears in Noah's eyes and he reached over and took the other man's hands in his. "It's okay Noah. I know that you loved me, and I loved you. We both made mistakes and now it's time to move on. I forgive you. I just want you to let me go so that we can be friends."

Noah looked at him incredulously. "How can you be so forgiving?"

"It's who I am, Noah," Luke replied gently. "I'm happy and I have Reid, my life is too full to hold onto petty grievances."

Noah felt like he had been punched in the gut. Luke had just dismissed their past. It was clear that Luke was looking forward with Reid, rather than back on the love that he had shared with Noah.

"One more thing, Luke," he began again. "I know that the fireworks accident was not your fault. I'm sorry that I blamed you. You didn't deserve that."

"Noah, don't waste your time blaming yourself. It was an accident, pure and simple. Thank you for apologizing and for acknowledging that it wasn't my fault, but really I'm just glad that you can see again."

"Thanks Luke," Noah leaned in to hug Luke, but Luke stepped back and stuck out his hand instead.

Noah sighed, and shook Luke's hand. "Well I guess I should be going. I'll just go and thank Lily and Emma one more time."

"Bye, Noah. Have a safe trip," Luke offered sincerely.

"Bye," Noah echoed as he left the room.

"Are you okay?" Reid asked as he sat down beside Luke, a huge plate of food in his hands.

"Yes," Luke smiled at his boyfriend.

"No last minute drama?" Reid teased.

Luke sighed. "He actually wanted to apologize to me. I think that he finally realizes that we are over."

"That explains a lot," Reid added, around a mouth full of food.

"Continue," Luke insisted, raising an eyebrow.

Reid shrugged. "He accepted my referral to a specialist in California, and he thanked me for coming today."

"Wow," Luke uttered.

"Uh-huh," Reid stated. "Now we can focus on more important things. Did you know that your Grandma makes her own pate? I didn't even know that was possible. She piped it onto these apple slices for me! Who does that? Have you tried the crab dip? She heated some up for me and it's even better than when it's cold, and it was spectacular when it was cold…" Reid babbled on in between bites of food.

Luke just smiled as he listened to Reid for a few more minutes.

"Do you think that we could go home now?" Luke asked quietly.

"Home?" Reid queried, but he liked the sound of that. He had come to realize that Luke was his home.

"The Lakeview," Luke corrected himself, blushing.

"Sure, let's go home!"


	36. Chapter 36

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Henry, Katie and Simon.

Summary: This is the courtship of Luke and Reid

Disclaimer: These are not my characters all belong to ATWT and its parent company(ies)

All mistakes are mine.

Rating PG

The two men lay happily intertwined with each other, blissfully sated.

"So what are you doing today?" Luke asked as he lazily traced shapes on Reid's naked torso.

"I need to go into the hospital for a few hours, and then I have to stop by Katie's to pick up some stuff," he replied.

"Katie's place, huh," Luke teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Um, well yeah, I mean it's my place too, of course, but you know Katie was the first one on the lease, and I, um, guess that it's Jacob's place too," Reid babbled on feeling a little bit lost.

Luke leaned over and kissed him warmly. "I love it when you babble," he confessed.

Reid kissed Luke back, partly so that he didn't have to speak again.

"So I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me tonight," Luke paused for a moment, "in Chicago."

"Chicago?" Reid queried. "That's a really long drive, just for dinner."

"I wasn't planning on driving, I arranged for one of the helicopters to take us there," he shrugged.

"Just one of them huh, so I guess that means we'll have to share, Richie Rich?" Reid teased.

"I know that you don't really like to share, but two seemed a little ostentatious, even for me," Luke replied solemnly.

"Well we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Reid responded. "What time would you like to leave?"

"4:30," he answered. "I made dinner reservations for 6."

"Pretty darn sure of yourself, aren't you, Mr. Snyder," Reid chuckled.

"Any reason that I shouldn't be, Dr. Oliver?"

"No," Reid admitted. "Where do you want to meet?"

"The Grimaldi shipping offices at 4:30, the helicopter will take off from the roof."

"Sounds good to me," Reid smiled and kissed Luke one more time before untangling himself and getting out of bed.

Reid spent a few hours at the hospital, ensuring that everything was running smoothly. He yelled at a few of the nurses when he caught them gossiping instead of working and chastised a young doctor who had missed a critical tumour while reading an x-ray. He checked in on his own patients and then caught up on some paperwork.

He was surprised to see that it was 1:30 when he looked up at the clock. His stomach was rumbling and he decided to swing by Al's to pick up some lunch before heading over to Katie's place. _Katie's place, when was it that I stopped thinking of it as my place?_

"Hey Hank," Reid called as he sat down at a booth. "I need some food."

"I'm shocked to hear that," Henry mocked, sitting himself down across from Reid.

"What are you doing? I need you to take my order," Reid grumbled.

"I placed your order when I saw you walk in," Henry replied calmly.

"How do you know what I want to eat?"

Henry just raised an eyebrow as Janet placed a double bacon cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate milkshake in front of Reid and a tossed green salad with garlic chicken and a glass of water in front of Henry.

"Did you want to trade," Henry inquired innocently.

Reid just glared at Henry. "No thanks," he responded tersely as he began to inhale his food.

"So," Henry began. "I was wondering how Bubbles was doing. I haven't seen or heard from her in several days. Every time I call her it goes directly to her voicemail. Is she okay?" Henry asked in concern.

Reid just shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen her since Bob's retirement party."

Henry gaped at Reid. "What do you mean you haven't seen her since Bob's party? You live with her, how could you not have seen her?"

Reid shrugged, starting to feel very uncomfortable. "I've been staying at the Lakeview," he mumbled.

"What? Why have you been staying there? You hate hotels! Isn't that the reason that you moved in with Katie in the first place?"

"With Luke," Reid added as he continued eating.

Henry took a moment to let that information sink in. "That explains a lot," he nodded. "What about Katie? Do you think that she might be in trouble? Neither of us has seen her in couple of weeks! I know that she was working yesterday, but I think that I'd better go over and check on her," Henry worried aloud.

"I'm on my way over there now, so I'll let you know if there's anything wrong," Reid answered. The last thing he wanted was Hank coming over to Katie's with him.

"So why are you headed over there?" Henry asked innocently, though relieved that someone was going to be checking on Katie.

Reid sighed. "It's really none of your business, Hank," Reid replied sternly.

"Uh huh," Henry prodded.

"I'm just going over to pick up some stuff, if you must know."

"So you're living with Luke now, is that it?" Henry teased.

"No," Reid answered, hotly. "We're just staying at the Lakeview for now."

"So you'll be moving back to Katie's soon while Luke will be moving back to Lily's?" Henry queried. "That sounds like fun."

Reid scowled. He didn't like the sound of that at all, but what was the alternative? He decided to just enjoy the time that he had with Luke at the Lakeview.

"I have to go," Reid responded, throwing some bills on the table.

"What? You're not going to have any dessert?" Henry asked, surprised.

"Nope," Reid answered, having lost all interest in food for the moment, he turned and headed out the door.

Walking into Katie's place a few minutes later, Reid was shocked to see a handsome half naked man standing in the living room.

"Not that I'm complaining, but who the hell are you?" Reid asked curtly.

Simon spun around so quickly that his towel slipped. "Simon," he replied, readjusting his towel. "Simon Frasier," he added offering his hand.

Reid just looked Simon up and down, coolly. "Uh huh," he finally replied, keeping his hands to himself.

"You must be the elusive, Reid Oliver," Simon smiled.

"I must be," Reid drawled.

"Simon," Katie whined, suddenly appearing, also clad only in a towel. "What's taking you so long?"

Reid cleared his throat, loudly.

"We have a guest," Simon teased.

Katie spun around, holding on to her towel tightly. "Reid? What the hell are you doing here?"

"I live here."

"Uh… well yeah, I guess so, but you've been living with Luke for the last few weeks, I just assumed that you weren't coming back," Katie babbled awkwardly.

"I'm not living with Luke, we're just staying at the Lakeview together," Reid answered defensively.

"Uh huh," Katie grinned at him.

"So who is this Simon character? I'm only gone for a couple of weeks and you just let some guy in?" Reid inquired, happy to change the direction of the conversation. "Where's Jacob? Does he get to see the two of you gallivanting about in just your towels?"

"Jacob is spending the weekend at Margo's," Katie began.

"Katie, you haven't told Reid who I am?" Simon interupted.

Katie rolled her eyes at both men. "This is _**Simon**_," she stated, willing Reid to acknowledge that he knew who Simon was.

"Thanks Katie, I got that when he introduced himself."

"Ugh, why are men so stupid," she muttered. "He's my Simon, you know, my ex husband?"

"Now which ex husband was he exactly, you've had quite a few, you know," he teased.

"Reid," Katie warned. "Why are you here?" she decided that it was time to put the focus back on him.

"I just came by to pick up a few things," Reid answered casually.

"Uh huh," Katie raised an eyebrow at him, "to take back to your place…with Luke?"

"I'll just go and grab them now," he grumbled heading off to his room, pretending not to hear Katie laughing at him.

Several minutes later, he returned to the living room, hoping to exit in peace, when he heard Simon call out. "So, when do you reckon that you'll be back?"

"I don't know," Reid shrugged, noting that Simon and Katie had gotten dressed while he had been packing. "You should call Hank, he's worried about you," Reid advised Katie.

"Oh my God, I've been meaning to call him, but I've been uh… busy."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Reid smirked, giving Simon the once over.

"Katie, should I be offended or flattered that your, uh, roommate just checked me out?" Simon inquired.

"Flattered," Reid and Katie answered in unison.

"I'll see you later," Reid said as he exited the apartment.

"I won't hold my breath," Katie called out, but Reid had already closed the door.

At exactly 4:30 Reid arrived at Luke's office ready to spend the evening with Luke in Chicago.

"Ready to go?" he asked, relieved that Luke had changed into faded jeans and a casual black pullover.

"Yup," Luke smiled. "I just need to grab my jacket. You look nice," he added, before kissing Reid on the lips. Reid had worn his tight black jeans with a plain heather gray t-shirt under his black leather jacket. Luke loved those black jeans, which of course, was why Reid chose to wear them.

"You look good too," Reid breathed into Luke's ear. "Maybe we should just stay here."

"Not a chance," Luke laughed and grabbed his jacket with one hand and Reid's hand with the other. "Let's go."


	37. Chapter 37

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Summary: This is the story of the courtship of Reid and Luke.

Other Character's: The proprietor of the restaurant named Joe.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters all belong to ATWT and its parent company(ies). All mistakes are mine.

A/N I have never been to Chicago and so I have made up a restaurant. No similarity to any real restaurant is intended.

A/N #2 This is the second to last chapter. I hope that you enjoy it!

Rating: PG

The helicopter was waiting for them on the roof of the Grimaldi shipping building. "Have you ever been in a helicopter before?" he asked.

"No," Reid replied shaking his head and praying that Luke didn't see how nervous he was.

"You're in for a treat," Luke said and squeezed Reid's hand tightly.

Reid felt the tension escape from his body, as he allowed Luke's warmth to fill him up.

He simply nodded before following Luke on board. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the helicopter was bigger than he had anticipated. The windows added to the illusion of space and any residual fear faded away quickly.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked, gently.

"Yeah," Reid smiled. "It's not as confining as I had feared."

"Good," Luke beamed at him, still holding his hand. "Chicago is an amazing city, and the view from the air is absolutely incredible."

"Yeah, it is," Reid agreed, staring at Luke.

Luke blushed a pretty pink colour.

Luke had been correct. The view was incredible and Reid thoroughly enjoyed the brief flight. He was surprised when the helicopter landed on the roof of an office building in downtown Chicago, he had expected to land at an airport.

"Why are we landing here?" he inquired.

"Grandmother owns this building, so we always land here when we fly to the city," Luke replied with a slight shrug.

"Of course she does," Reid replied, rolling his eyes.

"I have a car waiting for us downstairs, so let's go," Luke insisted after thanking the pilot.

"Of course you do," Reid muttered to himself.

At 5:45 the limo pulled up in front of Joe's Authentic Pizza, which appeared to be closed.

"Is this the restaurant?" Reid asked.

"Yes," Luke beamed at him.

"Uh, I think it might be closed. Don't worry there are tons of restaurants in Chicago, I'm sure that we can find a great one."

"Let's give it a shot," Luke suggested.

"Um… okay," Reid hesitated, but followed Luke up to the front door.

Just as they reached the landing the doors flew open and a man appeared smiling affectionately at Luke.

"Luciano," he greeted, hugging Luke and kissing him on both cheeks. "It's been too long."

"It's great to see you Joe," Luke smiled at the owner. "This is Reid Oliver."

"Reid," he responded, reaching out to hug the doctor.

"Dr. Oliver," Reid mumbled as he managed to avoid the hug.

Luke chuckled for a second before rescuing him. "Perhaps you could show us to our table," Luke suggested.

"Certainly Luciano, right this way," he replied as he directed them to a large table.

"So, when you said that you made reservations, what exactly did you mean?"

"I reserved the restaurant," Luke replied casually.

"The entire place, you didn't think that one table would be enough for us?"

"I just wanted to have a quiet dinner with you, and this place is always packed," Luke explained.

"Uh huh, and you couldn't find a quieter restaurant?"

"Well, I probably could've, that's true, but this place has exceptional pizza, and I know how much you like pizza."

Reid leaned over and kissed Luke. "You're crazy, you do know that right?"

"Yeah," Luke blushed, "but you love me anyway."

"Yes, I do," Reid responded seriously.

"So shall we look at the menus?"

"Sure," Reid answered perusing the offerings. "What's good here?"

"It's all good!" Luke answered. "I'm going to have the Mista salad to start followed by the Margherita pizza."

Just then the owner returned with a small platter of Antipasti. It contained fresh melon wrapped in prosciutto, plump black olives, Genoa salami, marinated boccaccini, marinated mushrooms and some pan-fried calamari.

"Just a small sampler of some of my favourite Italian foods that I prepared for you, please enjoy!" John offered. "I know that you don't drink alcohol, Luciano so I have brought you a pitcher of Pellegrino with lemon slices. Would you care for anything else?"

Luke looked at Reid who shook his head.

"This all looks wonderful, thank you," Luke replied.

"Wow, this is fantastic," Reid raved around a mouth full of food.

Luke smiled.

"So how did you find this place? You've clearly been here before."

"My Dad always takes me here when we come to Chicago," Luke shrugged.

"Really?" Reid answered in surprise. "Holden seems more like a Pizza Hut kind of guy."

"Not Holden," Luke replied, quietly. "Damian."

"Ah," Reid nodded. "Bad dad, that makes more sense."

"Have you decided which pizza you are going to order?" Luke inquired not wanting to talk about any of his family members tonight.

"I think that I'm going to have the red pizza with the mushrooms and sausage. Have you ever tried that one?"

"Yes, it's delicious!" Luke enthused.

Just then John returned with two salads and some focaccia bread with balsamic vinegar and olive oil for dipping.

"How is everything so far?" Joe inquired.

"The food is amazing as usual," Luke replied warmly.

"Delicious," Reid echoed his mouth full of the fresh bread.

Joe beamed at the two men. "Please enjoy your salads."

The two men ate in silence for a few minutes. The only sounds that could be heard were the occasional moans of pleasure that Reid emitted.

"The food here is amazing Luke, and we haven't even gotten to the main course."

Luke just grinned back at him.

Joe returned to take away their cleaned plates and take their respective pizza orders.

Once they were alone again, Reid reached out for Luke's hand.

"So, what can you tell me about Simon?" Reid asked casually.

"Simon Frasier?" Luke asked, curiously.

"Yeah," Reid nodded, "Katie's ex."

"Oh," Luke nodded. "I don't really know very much about him. He's kind of old…"

"He's my age," Reid replied through gritted teeth.

"Really?" Luke answered. "Huh, I would've thought that he was older,"

"Uh huh," Reid snorted. "Is he a good guy? Did he treat Katie well? Why did they break up?"

"Whoa ," Luke laughed. "I really don't know much about the guy. I know that Katie loved him; I think that they were happy together, but I know that Simon is a little bit shady. He was always scamming someone. In fact, I think the reason that he first married Katie was to avoid deportation. He had a thing for my mom, for awhile, but I don't think that she returned his feelings. Anyway, after awhile, he realized that he really did love Katie and then they had a real wedding. Some of Simon's enemies came after him, and he left Katie in order to protect her. Katie later fell for Mike, and Simon tried to break them up. I don't know, it's kind of a mess," Luke finished with a shrug.

"A messy relationship in Oakdale, who knew?" Reid commented sarcastically.

"Reid," Luke scolded. "I do know that my Uncle Jack brought Simon back to town after my Uncle Brad died, they were together briefly and Katie seemed pretty happy, I'm not sure why it didn't last. Maybe she just wasn't ready." Luke sighed. "Why do you want to know about Simon anyway?"

"He was naked at Katie's place when I stopped by this afternoon. From the looks of things those two are back together. You know that I care about Katie and I want to make sure that she's okay."

"You saw Simon naked?" Luke exclaimed, his eyes bugging out. "Why didn't you lead with that?"

"I dunno," Reid shrugged. "He's not that hot, and besides didn't you say that he was kind of old?"

"Yeah… but he was always fit, as I recall."

"He's definitely fit," Reid said with a small smile.

Luke frowned.

"Is he hotter than me?" Luke asked quietly.

"Don't be an idiot, Luke! No one is hotter than you," Reid stated emphatically.

Luke reached over and kissed Reid lovingly.

Joe cleared his throat and then placed their pizza's on the table.

"Thanks Joe," Luke smiled.

"Buon Appetito!"

"Oh my God, this is incredible, Luke!"

"I thought that you'd like it."

"Like it, I'd marry it if I had the chance," Reid exclaimed.

Luke chuckled. "I thought that you didn't believe in marriage," he teased.

"I don't, but you never know what the future holds," he shrugged.

"Hmmm," Luke replied.

After the pizza had been eaten they were both full and happy, Reid once again reached out for Luke's hand.

"So I've been thinking," Reid began staring down at the table. "It's been great staying at the Lakeview with you, and I know that we can't stay there forever, and it seems that Simon might be moving in with Katie. I mean I don't know that for sure, but they seemed pretty cozy, and with their history and the fact that they live in Oakdale, well a reconciliation seems inevitable…"

"Reid," he looked up briefly. "You're babbling."

"I know," Reid answered looking incredible vulnerable. "I don't know what else to do."

"Just spit it out, whatever it is, you're starting to freak me out."

"I want us to live together," Reid said staring into Luke's big brown eyes.

"Huh," Luke responded.


	38. Chapter 38

Title: The Long and Winding Road

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Summary: This is a story about the courtship of Luke and Reid.

Other Characters: The proprietor of the restaurant named Joe.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters as all belong to ATWT and its parent company(ies). All mistakes are mine.

Rating: PG

A/N Well this is it! I wanted to thank everyone who has read and commented on this story! Your comments have encouraged me and inspired me more than you probably know. I hope that you enjoy this last chapter!

"I want us to live together," Reid said staring into Luke's big brown eyes.

"Huh," Luke responded.

Reid blinked back at Luke, this was not the response he had been expecting let alone hoping for.

"Why do you want to live with me?" Luke asked quietly, staring intently into Reid's clear blue eyes.

"What do you mean?" Reid asked, truly perplexed.

"It's a simple question, Reid," Luke replied, seriously. "Why do you want to live with me?"

"You want a list?"

"Yes."

"I love you. I like the privacy that we've enjoyed at the Lakeview. I don't want to live with Katie, Jacob and Simon. I just think that it's time that we had a place of our own."

"Uh huh," Luke responded. "So you think that I'm a convenience, is that it?"

"No, that's not it. Luke you know that I'm not very good at this stuff, but I want a life with you. I've never been here with anyone else. I never really expected to have this or even want this, but I do, with you," Reid finished earnestly. "So will you live with me?"

"Maybe," Luke began. "It all depends on you."

"What the hell does that mean?" Reid asked, once again feeling at sea. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked as he watched Luke get down on one knee.

Luke beamed up at Reid, while reaching into his pocket for the ring box that he had been carrying around for awhile.

"Reid, I want a life with you too, but I don't just want to live with you. I want it all, the whole enchilada, everything!"

"But…" Reid interjected, gaping at Luke. He couldn't believe what was happening.

"I know that you don't believe in ceremonies and weddings and all that. I know that you think that if love is going to last it will and if it doesn't all of the vows in the world won't save it. I know that that's true, but I want forever with you, and I want everyone to know that we are committed to each other." Luke paused opening the ring box.

Reid held his breath, unable to do anything else.

"Reid Oliver, will you marry me?"

Reid stared at Luke trying to take in this monumental moment. He wanted Luke, all of Luke, forever with Luke. He had never, ever considered being married before, but looking at this beautiful man, kneeling before him, hope shining in his eyes, Reid knew that he was only capable of giving one answer.

"Yes," Reid breathed out, quietly.

Luke could hardly believe it. The smile that took over his face was one of shock and joy.

"Really?" Luke asked, needing to be sure.

Reid merely nodded.

"Say it," Luke demanded playfully, already placing the ring on Reid's finger.

"Yes," Reid answered clearly. "Yes, I'll marry you," and then he was kissing Luke and wrapping his arms around Luke's body, needing the physical connection.

Luke responded fully, hardly believing that Reid had actually agreed to marry him.

The two were lost in each other, until they heard a gentle cough beside them. They broke apart reluctantly and looked up to see Joe holding two pieces of Tiramisu for them.

"I take it he said yes," Joe stated with a big smile on his face. "Congratulations to you both."

"Thanks," Luke smiled back.

Reid mumbled something about being rudely interrupted, but began eating his dessert.

Luke gazed happily at his brand new fiancé, barely able to believe that it was true.

"So Luke, you're not going to turn into a Victorian romance heroine and insist that we not have sex until the wedding, are you?"

Luke laughed and shook his head. "Definitely not," he stated firmly, while reaching into his pocket.

"What have you got now?" Reid asked suspiciously.

"Well," Luke blushed. "I was kind of hoping that we could live together before the wedding, so I've, um, been looking at places," he said handing over some real estate spec sheets. "These are the ones that I like the best," he finished with a shrug.

Reid laughed and reached for the sheets. "Luke Snyder, you really do think of everything," he commented shaking his head at his good fortune. "I don't suppose that you have a ring for me to place on your finger in one of your pockets, do you?" Reid teased.

Luke blushed scarlet, "well, um actually I do," he murmured shyly reaching into his pocket and handing the box to Reid. "I wanted us to have matching rings, but we can exchange them for something else if you'd prefer."

"No way," Reid stated emphatically as he carefully placed the ring on Luke's finger and then leaned in and kissed Luke lovingly on the lips.

"Are you ready to go?" Luke asked, after reluctantly breaking the kiss.

"Yes," Reid nodded. "Let's go home so that we can celebrate our betrothal properly."

"Well, um," Luke started shyly. "I was thinking that we might celebrate on the drive home. I've arranged for the limo to drive us back to Oakdale."

"Of course you did," Reid smiled lovingly at Luke as he stood up and reached for Luke's hand.

Joe congratulated the two men again as he bid them goodnight.

Once the two men left restaurant they practically sprinted to the waiting limo.

"I love you Reid," Luke smiled as he began to slowly remove his clothes.

"I love you too, Luke," Reid replied just before he claimed Luke's mouth with his own.

End notes: I am thinking about writing a sequel to this where they move in together and plan the wedding. Please let me know if you what you think. It won't be for a while as RL is really busy at the moment. I blame DANCE!

Thanks again to everyone who has read this story!


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